Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly speaks at the United Nations in 2022.Photo by Julia Nikhinson/AP

Senate report calls on Global Affairs to cut senior management, denounces 'troubling' loss of expertise

The report begins with a stark visual on the front page: a pile of floppy disks emblazoned with the words “Global Affairs Canada.”

by · National Post

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada needs to hire more diplomats, cut senior management in half and make sure executives, including the top bureaucrat, have “in-depth knowledge of and experience in international affairs” to stay relevant in the 21st century, according to a new report. 

In a comprehensive report published on Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee made 29 recommendations to ensure Canada’s diplomatic corps has the appropriate resources, priorities and people for modern times, something even Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has admitted it doesn’t always have.  

John Ivison: Kissinger warned us we'd need serious leadership. Canada wasn’t listeningPierre Poilievre paid tribute to one of his heroes, Winston Churchill, last week, on the 149th anniversary of his birth. The venerated British war-time leader was prescient because he knew that to understand the future, you have to understand the past, the Conservative leader said.John Ivison, 05 Dec 2023Global Affairs Canada confirms eighth Canadian death in Israel-Hamas warGlobal Affairs Canada is announcing the death of an eighth Canadian citizen in the Israel-Hamas war.04 Dec 2023