ROXANNE DUBÉ
Boys’ mother a career diplomat in Miami post for only six weeks.
Ottawa • Lloyd Axworthy is unequivocal: During the decade she worked for him as a legislative assistant, Roxanne Dubé was “the best on the Hill.”
In an interview from New York, the former Liberal MP and cabinet minister said Ms. Dubé — who joined his staff after graduating from the University of Ottawa in 1988 — had “a sparkling personality and a willingness to do just about any job.
Ms. Dubé, Canada’s consul general to Miami, was thrust into the spotlight this week after her 17-year-old son, Jean Wabafiyebazu, was shot and killed. Her 15-year-old son is in police custody in Miami and has been charged with felony murder and threatening a police officer.
Mr. Axworthy described Ms. Dubé as “an incredible, intelligent, wonderful human being,” adding, “I can’t tell you how broken-hearted so many of us who know her are to learn about this tragedy in her life.
“Her children mean so much to her,” he said. “She spent so much time being a good mother to them.”
One of Ms. Dubé’s co-workers in Mr. Axworthy’s office was Eric Hoskins, now Ontario’s minister of health. In an email Wednesday, Mr. Hoskins’ press secretary said the minister was “shocked and saddened” by the news. “His heart goes out to Roxanne and her family.”
As a legislative assistant, Ms. Dubé was “at the centre of all parliamentary activities,” Mr. Axworthy said. When he was named minister of human resources after the Liberals won the 1993 election, Ms. Dubé was heavily involved in major reforms to employment insurance and pension programs.
When Mr. Axworthy became foreign affairs minister, she worked extensively with francophone constituencies. That became important when the PQ government in Quebec made a strong push to establish an international presence, Mr. Axworthy said.
She also worked on the Land Mine Treaty and was responsible for liaison with the Prime Minister’s Office and other officials. “She was always a good diplomat,” he said.
Ms. Dubé joined Foreign Affairs in 1998, where she served as the department’s director of relations with Parliament and the cabinet, as well as its director of federal-provincial and territorial relations. She was appointed ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2005, with concurrent accreditations to Angola and Botswana.
After the 2008 election in Zimbabwe, former Senator Donald Oliver commended Ms. Dubé during a Senate speech for obtaining permission for Canadian journalists to report on the results from inside the one-party state.
“Her close and visible contact with the journalists during their stay may very well have protected them,” he said.
Returning to Ottawa in 2008, Ms. Dubé became head of the administrative unit at Foreign Affairs and later served as director general of the department’s geographic strategy and services bureau.
She was named consul general in Miami in November and took up her new duties in February.
She spent so much time being a good mother to them