Envoys caught on wrong side of law
Global Affairs presents report, blotter-style
Assaults. Drunk driving. Stunt driving. Threats. It’s been another six months in the lives of foreign diplomats in Canada, as collected in the old-fashioned police blotter style of reports from Global Affairs Canada.
The most serious offences in the latest reports show that one vice-consul was recalled by his country after legal troubles here, and there are assault charges against another senior official.
The details are contained in two quarterly reports recently released by Global Affairs under an access-to-information request, covering mid- and late 2018.
These reports provide a rare public glimpse inside the veiled world of diplomacy, but Global Affairs redacts all names of countries and individuals, even where police lay charges that will result in trials in open court. The public can read summaries of what diplomats did, but not who they are or where they come from. Global Affairs insists this is essential to preserve good relations among countries.
Many of these events involve not only the diplomats, but their families.
A vice-consul of a Commonwealth country has been called home by his government after he was arrested, taken into custody and charged with assaulting his son.
That means he will not face charges here. But officials in his own country are requesting information from police here to see whether they should pursue action against him in his home country.
An honorary consul was charged with assault for an incident at his own home. The document does not say who the victim was. The event happened earlier last year.
“As all consular officers in Canada are required to have a clear criminal record, Protocol is following this matter closely,” the report says. (The Office of Protocol is the office at Global Affairs dealing with diplomats here.)
In the meantime, the country represented by this honorary consul has made arrangements for another country to take over its consular functions here.
More trouble on the home front: Two children of the high commissioner for a Commonwealth country got into such a serious fight that someone in their home had to call 9-1-1.
There were several major driving offences. The son of one high-commission official was charged with stunt driving for driving more than 50 km/h over the speed limit. In another case, the son of an ambassador was stopped for speeding and suspended from driving for accumulating 15 or more demerit points. Global Affairs called his father, who promised (in writing) that the young man would not get the keys again until his licence was returned.
But a speeding ambassador got off more lightly after pleading ignorance. He or she “was not charged with stunt driving at the discretion of the investigating officer,” the document says, but Global Affairs “followed up with the Embassy to ensure that the Ambassador was aware of the Department’s policy on traffic infractions,” in particular stunt driving.
An attaché for one embassy got caught driving
PROTOCOL IS FOLLOWING THIS MATTER CLOSELY.
with a suspended driver’s licence. “This matter will be concluded upon payment of the assessed fine,” the report says.
Two diplomats were charged with failing to give police a breath sample, and one of them was charged with impaired driving.
And one diplomatic agent was “temporarily detained due to a communication error” after he or she disobeyed a sign marking a bus route and collided with an Ottawa or Gatineau city bus.
The documents gloss over several other offences, including harassment of consular staff and threats. These include offences against diplomatic staff by outsiders.
And, as always, there were some foreign visitors who did not want to go home after a posting here. There were six cases where diplomatic staff or their families requested refugee status in Canada.