Archive for the ‘G20’ Category

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s director of communication Dimitri Soudas sent out a note to all the media attending the G8 and G20 summits this morning. (I’ve deleted emails so I don’t flood the press secretaries in-boxes but here’s the message).

Sent: Mon Jun 21 12:47:08 2010
Subject: G-8 and G-20 Message to Media/Messages aux médias  pour le G-8 et le G-20

Good day,

My name is Dimitri Soudas and I am the Director of Communications for the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.

During the G-8 and G-20, I will be working with Andrew MacDougall, Sara MacIntyre and Mike White Press Secretaries to the Prime Minister of Canada, to provide you with information throughout the summits.

Please feel free to contact any of us at the following addresses.

Dimitri Soudas – [email address included in original document]

Andrew MacDougall –[email address included in original document]

Sara MacIntyre –[email address included in original document]

Mike White –[email address included in original document]

As well, I will be sending you email updates throughout the summits.  Again, please do not hesitate to contact me, Andrew, Mike  or Sara.

I hope that you enjoy your stay in Canada and I am looking forward to working with you over the next few days.

Photo courtesy: PMO/Deb Ransom

Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, and Abdou Diouf, Secretary-General of La Francophonie, were in Ottawa Wednesday for their first meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As my colleague Dominique La Haye explained in Le Journal de Quebec, the leaders were here to lobby to include concerns of smaller and more vulnerable nations on the G20 agenda.

Sharma and Diouf met with Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Francophonie Minister Josee Verner at lunch time.

They were to meet Harper at 15:30 ET.

A press conference was scheduled with Sharma at 16:15, shortly before both Secretaries-General were expected at Rideau Hall for to meet with Governor General Michaelle Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond at 17:00.

At 16:40, reporters were still waiting for Sharma to arrive. Someone from protocol called the press gallery to say Sharma was lost and was waiting in the Rotunda (a floor above). But staff dispatched to find him came back empty handed. Minutes later, we were told the press conference was canceled.

Conspiracy theories circulated that Harper had kept the leaders longer so they would not meet with reporters.

Diouf’s last visit to Canada caused an embarrassing diplomatic incident after the former President of Senegal was subjected to a body-search at Toronto’s Pearson airport. There were no Canadian officials there to tell officers who he was.

This time, Catherine Loubier, Cannon’s spokeswoman, said there would be a person from protocol present for Diouf’s airport arrivals and departures to prevent a repeat of the 2006 incident.