NEWS RELEASES
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE EMPLOYEES WIN CANADIAN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS
December 7, 1999 (4:45 p.m. EST) No. 265
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE EMPLOYEES WIN
CANADIAN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and International Trade Minister Pierre S.
Pettigrew today commended several employees of the Department of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade for their outstanding achievements. The employees are winners
of the Head of the Public Service Award.
Canadian and locally engaged staff at the Canadian High Commission in Kenya won an
award for delivering assistance in a highly professional manner and under extremely
stressful conditions, in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy in
Nairobi. High Commission personnel worked tirelessly to assist international partners
who were dealing with psychological and ongoing physical threats. They also helped
local authorities, provided nursing assistance, conducted hospital visits and performed
countless other duties during the crisis.
H.G. Pardy, Director General of Consular Affairs, received an award for his leadership,
vision and commitment in his service to Canadians living and travelling abroad. In many
instances, he is directly involved in the negotiations of difficult cases involving
kidnappings, child abductions and civil and natural disasters. Under his direction, the
Consular Affairs Bureau became a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week response centre for
service to Canadians around the world. He is instrumental in the delivery of the Travel
Information Program, consisting of 217 country-specific reports providing safety
conditions and information on health, insurance, visas and telecommunications.
Bruce Howard, at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, and Randall Nelson, Trade Policy
Officer, were among a group of recipients from several federal departments who were
presented with an award for containing the spread of the Asian longhorn beetle in
Canada. As a result of their quick action, Canada's hardwood forests have been
protected.
The second annual Head of the Public Service Awards were presented yesterday by
the Clerk of the Privy Council, Mel Cappe. Any employee of the Public Service of
Canada can nominate another employee or group of employees, regardless of the level
or department of either party. Winners are selected by a committee of representatives
from federal government departments and associations. Twenty awards were given out
this year.
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Backgrounders are attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Sylvie Bussières
Office of the Minister for International Trade
(613) 992-7332
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
Backgrounder
CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSION IN KENYA
In the aftermath of the terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in August 1998,
Canadian and locally engaged staff of the Canadian High Commission in Kenya are
credited with delivering services in a highly professional manner under extremely
stressful conditions, and in spite of increased personal security risk.
In addition to performing their regular duties, High Commission personnel worked
tirelessly to assist international partners who were dealing with psychological and
ongoing physical threats. They also helped local authorities, provided nursing
assistance, collected blankets, conducted hospital visits and performed countless other
duties during the crisis.
The bomb's blast measured over 4.0 on the Richter scale and left a crater 10 feet deep
and 40 feet wide. It killed 213 people and wounded almost 5000. The High Commission
staff offered immediate assistance and dedicated support on a 24-hour basis.
Backgrounder
H.G. PARDY
Since assuming the position of Director General of Consular Affairs in 1995, H.G. Pardy
has demonstrated leadership, commitment and compassion in his service to Canadians
travelling and living abroad. Over two million Canadians annually require assistance
from consular staff in over 250 points of service worldwide.
Under his direction, the Consular Affairs Bureau became a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week response centre for service to Canadians around the world. It is the heart of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's response to international crises,
emergencies and natural disasters outside of Canada.
Mr. Pardy's vision inspired the development of a series of safe-travel publications for
Canadians travelling abroad. He oversees the Travel Information Program, consisting of
217 country-specific reports which include the general safety conditions of a foreign
country and crucial information on health, insurance, visas and telecommunications.
He was instrumental in expanding the honorary consul program, which has increased
access to consular services for Canadians around the world, regardless of their
location.
Mr. Pardy takes a personal interest in sensitive and difficult consular cases, such as
recent kidnappings in Africa and South America, child abduction cases and civil and
natural disasters.
As a testament to his achievements, Mr. Pardy's nomination for this award came from
the employees of his bureau, who feel that he is the embodiment of what every public
servant should strive to be.
Backgrounder
ASIAN LONGHORN BEETLE PROJECT
The Asian longhorn beetle is a serious pest that attacks hardwood trees in China. Its
menace is spreading as it stows away in packing crates used in shipments around the
world. If the beetle becomes established in North America, maple and other broadleaf
tree species may be devastated, since the beetle has few natural predators on this
continent.
A team of federal government inspection officers, scientists, researchers,
administrators, policy advisers, trade officers and public relations specialists were
instrumental in containing the spread of the Asian longhorn beetle in Canada. As a
result of their quick action, Canada's hardwood forests have been protected.
State and federal agencies in the U.S. have been forced to remove thousands of trees
as part of an aggressive survey and eradication program. But, in Canada, the team of
federal employees was quick to spot the beetles upon their arrival at the port of
Vancouver and ports in southern Ontario, and moved quickly to contain the spread of
this pest. Their work stands as a model of close interdepartmental co-operation in
addressing an issue of national importance.
In Canada, the decision to require all solid wood cargo crating from China to be treated
with heat or chemicals has already resulted in the interception of more than 20 species
of invasive, non-native insects, including the Asian longhorn beetle. However, the
team's impact on policy development reaches far beyond Canada's borders. The United
States and Mexico have joined with Canada to establish a new standard that would
require all non-manufactured wood packing materials entering North America to be
treated, to eliminate pests.
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