Canadian Heritage committee  But we do write things down. We have the tradition of respect for our sovereign. We do write that down. We write down how we will address our sovereign and what is acceptable behaviour and what isn't. So we do write a lot of things down. I wouldn't want to give you the impression

Canadian Heritage committee  I think the federal government is doing an excellent job of working with us on these issues. They are sharing with us what is written down, answering questions when we have them, and understanding where it is something that is flexible and something that isn't. If I were to give

Canadian Heritage committee  Here's where flexibility comes in. We talk about it. We talk about the reasons. Is it a question of timing? Is it a question of security? Is it a question of availability of players?

Canadian Heritage committee  We are talking to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on a regular basis. These international missions are very complicated. We are guests in another country. We work very closely with the embassies. We do talk about it, absolutely.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think we're all under lots of pressure. I think that's the way life is. I think it's our job to help with that. We certainly act as subnationals. We recognize that we are subnational and we have jurisdiction over that. When we sign and negotiate international memoranda of under

Canadian Heritage committee  We find our Canadian ambassadors and consuls general abroad incredibly helpful. They are instrumental in the success of our missions. We very much rely on them, and they are our Canadian officials abroad. So we recognize that they're there to serve us.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think it's a question of an overall framework. Getting into all the minutiae may run the risk of overly cementing and therefore removing some of the flexibility. It's difficult for us to deviate from what has been written down. It's human nature. I think it's possible to have a

Canadian Heritage committee  We have regular meetings of chiefs of protocol, and we have even more regular discussions, through conference calls, for instance, among chiefs of protocol. So we're constantly talking about this sort of thing—how we're doing things and where things are at. At the last meeting of

Canadian Heritage committee  The role of protocol is to show respect and dignity for those involved and have an established sequence of proceedings so there isn't offence overall. Protocol changes over time, and it's important that it changes over time. The values of society change, and protocol can adapt a

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, there are some baselines for it. It depends on what it is. There are baselines for flag-flying and for which flag goes on the left or right. There are baselines. Those are written down. There are baselines for forms of address. Ambassadors are “Your Excellency”, your Govern

Canadian Heritage committee  No. I know you were using it as an example, but it would be built in.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Standing committee members, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for this opportunity to discuss with you Ontario's policies and practices with respect to its protocol activities. It's important for all of us who are tasked with advising our respective decisi