Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Honourable members of the committee, mesdames et messieurs, my name is Stewart Wheeler, and as chief of protocol of Canada, I'm pleased to join the committee alongside my colleagues to contribute to the important discussion taking place today to help clarify the processes that are used by our offices to fulfill our mandates, and to reassure the members of the committee of our shared commitment to sound management of public funds.
As the chair and committee members may be aware, I volunteered to join my colleagues today in order to be able to share relevant information on the work that we all do together in these processes.
The Office of the Chief of Protocol is responsible for managing and coordinating international protocol operations for the State, including high-level visits and associated events, as well as a series of services offered to foreign diplomatic officials here in Canada.
As part of that role, the office of protocol coordinates and delivers travel and logistics for high-level visits either to Canada by visiting dignitaries or abroad by Canadian dignitaries.
The international practice of exchanging high-level visits by heads of state and heads of government is a central element of diplomacy and international relations. The Governor General plays an important role in this context by travelling abroad at the request of the government to advance specific Canadian foreign policy objectives. A cabinet minister traditionally forms part of the official delegation, which often includes all-party groups of parliamentarians, as well as Canadians chosen based on their ability to contribute to advancing the themes and objectives of a visit.
As an example of delegations, the chair and committee members will have noted that a number of distinguished Canadians, including former governors general, prime ministers, national indigenous leaders and decorated representatives of national honours programs travelled on our flight this past week to London to attend the state funeral of her late Majesty the Queen. On our return, the Prime Minister of New Zealand joined us, engaging in important bilateral discussions as the leaders prepared for their engagements in New York at the United Nations this week.
One of the main objectives of international visits is promoting Canada, as well as strengthening ties between nations and international partners. We meet these objectives by opening doors at the highest level, in order to lay the groundwork in key areas such as trade expansion and investments and establishing dialogue on major international issues.
Once a high-level visit has been confirmed, the office of protocol leads on the coordination of the many stakeholders involved in the execution of these visits. We ensure that partner departments have the information they require to deliver on their individual mandates. Our office does not task other departments, but rather ensures that decision points are relayed and that knowledge and information is shared. The office of protocol arranges with the Royal Canadian Air Force for the use of government aircraft to facilitate transportation and, related to that, confirms the meals to be served based on the operational requirements of the visit program, i.e., whether the flights are taking place during mealtime, the dietary restrictions of passengers, etc.
As high-level travel has resumed after this difficult period, this is an opportune time for us to redouble our continued efforts to work across departments with our partners to constantly evaluate ways that we can improve efficiencies, eliminate unnecessary expenses and tailor our processes to deliver maximum return on the investment of public funds in these areas. Over the past months, our teams have already been engaged to look specifically at this particular area of our operations in order to improve our practices and identify efficiencies and potential savings.
In conclusion, I would like to underscore the importance of the Governor General's visits and the fact that they are the result of the close collaboration between the Office of the Secretary of the Governor General, the Canadian Armed Forces, Global Affairs Canada and other partners. We are always looking for ways to increase efficiencies and responsibly manage public funds in order to efficiently contribute to Canada's priorities and objectives internationally.
I'll be happy to answer any questions members may have.