James Albert Holt: RIP

Jim passed away on March 10. Many of us knew him as a kind and knowledgeable ex-military pilot whose section in DFAIT -- military sales promotion -- was not made to feel completely at home. This Ottawa Citizen article tells of his battle with cancer, and with OHIP.

Article

Obit

Leon Stryker: RIP

Colleague John Tennant advises that:

we recently lost a well-known Commercial Officer who served for many years in Melbourne, Australia, and has kept close ties with those of us who served in the post - now no longer - that was farthest from Ottawa.  Leon was present when the Office of the High Commissioner in Melbourne (pre Consulate General days) was among the first to fly the Canadian maple leaf in 1965  Leon was the identity of the office.  He made and sustained lasting relationships with all the surviving alumni from Melbourne. RIP.

Impact of Canadian Diplomatic Trade Offices Abroad

C D Howe study (early 2014) on the effect of trade offices -- announcement.

Report (pdf) is here.

Overview

With the federal government having prioritized “economic diplomacy” for overseas posts, along with a major budget consolidation, it is essential that Ottawa get the process right.

This E-Brief assesses the impact of Canada’s diplomatic representation abroad on exports. It concludes that economic diplomacy boosts exports – and quite significantly – and sheds light on the questions of where, why and how.

The main policy findings are that maintaining high-level diplomatic relations, through an embassy, has of itself a larger positive impact on exports than the deepening of relations via additional posts, and that the existence of a trade agreement with a destination market has a significant positive influence on Canadian exports to that market. The results suggest that there is a definite importance in the “G2G” (government-to-government) relationship as distinct from the role of government in providing “B2B” (business-to-business) trade facilitation.

David Laughton: RIP

David LAUGHTON Obituary

It is with sadness that we advise of the passing of David Benson Laughton on Monday, March 9, 2015. His family wishes to thank the staff and friends at the Rockcliffe Residence, Ottawa for their kindness, loving care and friendship over the past many years. Special thanks to Drs. Leclair, Mai, Thompson for their nurture and support. 

Dave is survived by his daughter Dionne Caldwell (Bill Welsh) of Ottawa, Ontario, his son Bruce Laughton (Sally) of Los Angeles, 5 grandchildren (Samantha, Chantal, Amanda, James and David) and 7 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife of over 60 years, Dorothy (Dee, nee Pearson) whom he met in London, England while with the Canadian Army during WWII. Dave continued to serve his country joining the Department of Trade & Commerce in 1949 following graduating from the University of British Columbia. His foreign postings included; Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, Seattle WA, Washington, D.C., and Columbia. Dave retired as Ambassador to Columbia & Ecuador, thereafter residing in Vancouver for several years before moving to Ottawa in 2007. David enjoyed a good game of bridge and cribbage as well as getting outdoors whenever he could. He particularly loved fly fishing, regardless of the results. Dave will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. A Celebration of Life dedication will be planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer Society of Ontario would be appreciated. Condolences/Tributes/Donations:www.hpmcgarry.ca

Job with CUSO

For anyone so inclined, a temporary job in Ottawa, described here.

David Shearer: RIP

David William SHEARER

Obituary SHEARER, David William October 22, 1944 – February 19, 2015 David died peacefully at Niagara-on-the-Lake Hospital, Thursday, February 19, 2015. He is survived by his best friend and loving wife Christina (Chris) Walker, his beloved daughter Kristina (Tina) Sheldon, his sisters Cathy Schipilow (Bill) and Jean Emerson (the late John), his aunt Marg McGee, his stepfather Ron Read and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He will be greatly missed by his sisters-in-law Mary Williams (Frank) and Judith Shuell (Tom), brother-in- law Paul Walker Jr. (Beverley), the Read and Blackburn families and his many wonderful friends. David was predeceased by his parents Douglas Shearer and Phyllis Shearer Read and his sister Wendy McNamara (Michael). Dave grew up in Ottawa and spent 31 years with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He was posted to various locations - Philadelphia, Los Angeles, London, England, Kingston, Jamaica, Detroit, Ottawa, and New York, making many life-long friends along the way. In 1999 David and Chris married, and he retired. They left New York in 2002 and eventually settled in Niagara-on-the-Lake. David loved this community and he soon became very involved, serving as a board member on the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club and the Niagara-on-the-Lake Hospital Foundation and taking great pleasure in helping with the annual Christmas Parade. He was also part of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Cabinet, raising funds for the new St. Catharines Hospital. In 2007 he started a whole new career in real estate with Royal Lepage, and was proud to receive the Masters Sales award for 2013 and 2014. Dave was fun, thoughtful, charming, intelligent, rarely at a loss for words, and above all a true gentleman who will be sorely missed by family, friends and his 3 pussycats. David said so many times that he was lucky and thankful for their many caring friends. The family offers a special thank you to Dr. Janice Giesbrecht and her staff, the nurses at the Walker Cancer Centre and to Dr. Tim Bastedo and Dr. Andrew Smith from the Niagara-on- the-Lake Family Health Team. As David wished, there will be no funeral service, but a gathering of family and friends will be held at a later date. Donations in David's memory to Music Niagara, c/o Chris Blake would be appreciated. Memories, photos and condolences may be shared at www.morganfuneral.com. Published in The Ottawa Citizen on Feb. 23, 2015

Gerry Hughes: RIP

Readers will be saddened to learn of the death this week of Gerry Hughes, former ambassador In Ankara and high commissioner in Kuala Lumpur.  An obituary notice is below.

Les membres de l"ACMAR apprendront avec tristesse le décès cette semaine de Gerry Hughes, ancien ambassadeur à Ankara et haut-commissaire à Kuala Lumpur.   L'avis de décès se trouve en bas.

HUGHES, Gerald Francis George
March 1, 1919 - February 3, 2015
Passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, at the Perley & Rideau Veterans' Health Centre in Ottawa. He is greatly missed by Mary (née Wade), his loving wife of 73 years, his three sons, Michael, (Marianne), Christopher (Sharon) and Timothy (Julie), his grandchildren, Claire, Veronica and Dawson, his surviving sister, Lois (Lorne), and many nieces and nephews. Gerry was born in Sayabec, Quebec, attended high school in Campbellton, N.B., and the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton as a Beaverbrook scholar. After completing his degree in Electrical Engineering he joined Canadian General Electric briefly in Toronto, and then joined in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1941. He enrolled in a joint British/Canadian project to degauss (de-magnetize) allied minesweepers in order to protect them against enemy magnetic mines, and crossed the Atlantic numerous times on destroyers to confer with his British counterparts. While on leave in 1941 he met the love of his life on board a CN train from Montreal to Ottawa and they were married on February 28, 1942. Gerry was de-mobbed from the navy in 1945 as Lieutenant Commander and immediately joined Canada's Foreign Service (Trade Commissioner Service) in which he had a long and distinguished career until his retirement in 1983. Beginning in 1946 he served in Scotland, Turkey, Lebanon and Sweden as Trade Commissioner. He served as Minister Commercial in London and Rome and as Ambassador in Ankara and High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of his memorable adventures in Istanbul in 1950 was to swim across the Hellespont, as Leander did in mythological times to be with his beloved Hero. In all of those postings Gerry delighted in exploring the cultural treasures these marvelous countries had to offer. In 1964, he was asked to establish and head up the International Trade Centre at Expo '67 in Montreal, the opportunity of a lifetime. Throughout his career Gerry was not inclined to self-promotion, and preferred to arrive at the right course of action with discretion and modesty. His most cherished place was the family cottage on the Gatineau River, acquired shortly after the War, where he delighted in making breakfasts and barbeques for his family and friends, while developing the cottage and maintaining the boats, canoes and outboard motors. He also cherished his participation in the White Pine Fishing Club in the Gatineau hills where he worked tirelessly to help maintain the serene beauty of this remote property. We were very blessed and lucky to have him and he will be greatly missed. Gerry's funeral will be held privately, but the family will be arranging a memorial gathering to celebrate his life in the early summer. In lieu of flowers, Gerry would have appreciated that any donations be made to the Perley & Rideau Veterans' Health Centre in Ottawa, where he was cared for during his last year with love and respect, endearing himself to many of the wonderful staff.


Condolences/tributes/donations: www.hpmcgarry.ca 613-233-1143