By Canadian Press

Joly pledges foreign-service reboot in which diplomats better grasp languages, topics

Jun 7, 2023 | 8:22 AM

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is promising a plan by this fall for a foreign-service reboot in which diplomats will have a better grasp of the languages and topics relevant to their postings.

Joly said in a speech to Canadian ambassadors in Ottawa today that her government will spend more to ensure a better workplace culture and more knowledge in fields such as energy, critical minerals and cybertechnology.

Joly is releasing a 30-page report called the Future of Diplomacy, which notes Canada has a comparatively small presence at the United Nations and in what she calls “strategically important countries.”

The report follows an internal review and testimony to a Senate committee, which heard that Canada does not adequately prioritize diplomats specializing in a region, language or topic, and instead shuffles them between Ottawa and various capitals.

Joly says Ottawa will “revamp recruitment and training to increase diversity,” after concerns the public service is dominated by people who don’t sufficiently speak French or local languages.

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The minister is promising an implementation plan by Sept. 1 that will look at internal processes and cybersecurity within Global Affairs Canada, which faced a hack last year that Ottawa attributed to Russia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press