NEWS RELEASES

September 28, 2001 (1:30 p.m. EDT) No. 137

FOREIGN POLICY AND CONSULAR EXCELLENCE

RECOGNIZED AT FOREIGN AFFAIRS AWARD CEREMONY

John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today presented the 10th annual Foreign Policy and Consular Excellence Awards at a ceremony at the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa. Eight team and individual awards were presented to a total of 74 recipients.

"During my first year as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I have been deeply impressed with the men and women of this Department who serve the interests of Canada and Canadians around the globe," said Mr. Manley. "This has been especially evident to me in light of the recent tragic events in the United States, when departmental employees carried out their responsibilities with extraordinary dedication and compassion. This year's awards demonstrate the breadth of work our employees accomplish, both here and abroad -- from assisting stranded Canadians in strife-ridden regions to playing a pivotal role in establishing a world court to try war criminals."

The awards were presented in two categories: consular excellence and foreign policy excellence.

The Consular Excellence Award was presented to employees from the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Canadian Representative Office in Ramallah, who have been instrumental in evacuating several hundred Canadians over the period of conflict in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Working under perilous conditions, several employees have put their own lives at risk to travel to conflict areas in order to provide needed assistance to Canadians in the region.

The Award for Foreign Policy Excellence was presented to the Summit of the Americas Policy Team, whose members conceived and implemented the overall strategy for the Summit, held last spring in Quebec City. They are credited with having played a pivotal role in ensuring that the Summit addressed the range of concerns preoccupying many Canadians as well as others in the hemisphere. Through seminars and consultations, the views were sought of hundreds of lobby groups and unions, as well as countless academics, experts and other Canadians.

Citations for foreign policy excellence were given to: a group of employees who have enhanced Canada's profile internationally as a leader in the creation of the International Criminal Court; staff at the Canadian High Commission to Nigeria for their work in strengthening Canada's cultural, political and commercial relations with Nigeria during particularly challenging times; and the Canadian team that led the Organization of American States democratization effort in Peru, which significantly transformed the political landscape in that country.

Consular excellence citations went to: a locally engaged employee at the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade, who provided essential consular and passport services to Canadians throughout the conflict in the region; Canada's honorary Consul in Fiji for assisting Canadians during the attempted coup and hostage-taking of the elected government in Fiji in May 2000; and staff at our missions in India (Delhi and Mumbai), who reached Canadians affected by the India earthquake in January-February 2001.

This year's recipients were chosen from 14 nominations received from Headquarters and Canadian diplomatic missions abroad. A departmental selection committee chaired by Gaëtan Lavertu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, chose the winners.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs' Awards for Foreign Policy and Consular Excellence were designed to recognize outstanding individual or collective contributions to Canada, Canadians and Canadian foreign policy, and extraordinary consular service to Canadians at home and abroad.

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The list of recipients is attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sanjeev Chowdhury

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

LIST OF WINNERS

Winner of the Minister's Award for Foreign Policy Excellence:

Summit of the Americas Team

Sylvie Bédard, Peter Boehm, Jean Bourassa, Michael Brock, Geoff Gartshore, Tanya Girke, David Keithlin, Heidi Kutz, Nuala Lawlor, Louise Léger, Ines Le Minter, Matthew Loken, Anne-Tamara Lorre, Marc Lortie, Martin Roy, Étienne Savoie, Conrad Sheck, Renata Wielgosz

Citations for Foreign Policy Excellence:

International Criminal Court Team

Hugh Adsett, Alan Kessel, Valerie Oosterveld, Darryl Robinson, David Sproule

The Canadian High Commission to Nigeria

Adebusuyi Adebiyi, Paul Adebo, Connie Adibe, Antoinette Aide-Akhibi, Charles Ballantyne, Antoine Bokodé, David Dix, Juliette Egbulonu, Titi Fadumila, Ian Ferguson, Evelyn Lee, Shareen Lal, John McNeish, Mose Nwangele, Sunday Odeh, Modupe Oyedepo, Silas Udoh

Peru Team

Peter Boehm, Douglas Challborn, Graeme Clark, Louise Crosby, Carla Escalante,

Bernie Etzinger, Kimberley Ferguson, Patricia Fortier, Geoff Gartshore, George Haynal,

Chantal Lussier, Georgette Pepper, Katia Rivadeneyra, Ivan Roberts, Justin Robertson,

Étienne Savoie, Renata Wielgosz

Winner of the Minister's Award for Consular Excellence:

Consular Crisis Team in Tel Aviv and Ramallah

Tamara Eliaz, Danielle Hagemeyer, George Khoury, Alla Khrystych, Shawwa Malik, Perry Samoyloff, Laurent Samuel, Steven Walsh

Citations for Consular Excellence:

Emilija Krnjajski (Canadian Embassy in Belgrade)

Jana Vyas (Honorary Consul in Fiji)

Delhi and Mombai Missions (India)

Delhi: Robert Andrigo, Brian Jeanes, Meena Ramachandran, Sean Robertson, Jaswinder (Sonny) Singh, Priya Taneja

Mombai: Doug Paterson, Rosalind Samson, Amarjeet Rattan