2022 CPC Leadership Discussion: Et tu Redeux

[brihard]

One of its Manhattan properties? How many do we have?

I would hope we have at least a couple given the number of Canadians there needing consular services, and the various Canadian liaisons and delegations present in New York. It makes sense to have some real property there as part of our federal government’s footprint. I’d say the same for several other major cities.

 

[dapaterson]

NYC is the economic hub of North America and one of the main global hubs. It has multiple major international organizations.

Canada's diplomatic presence there is likely too small.

 

[dimsum]

NYC is the economic hub of North America and one of the main global hubs. It has multiple major international organizations.

Canada's diplomatic presence there is likely too small.

Not to mention that UN HQ is there too.

 

[The Bread Guy]

One of its Manhattan properties? How many do we have?

From the article

Sounds like the consul is going to get an apartment that can also host some official functions.

 

[Blackadder1916]

From the article
View attachment 86706
Sounds like the consul is going to get an apartment that can also host some official functions.

Filmmaker Ivan Reitman and Canadian Consul-General Pamela Wallin...

Filmmaker Ivan Reitman and Canadian Consul-General Pamela Wallin attend a celebration of the creation of the Festival Centre October 9, 2003 at the home of the consul-general in New York City. The...

www.gettyimages.ca

Consul General of Canada's Official Residence

Government Building in New York, NY

foursquare.com

I'm surprised that no one (either on this means or in the wider media space) has invoked Pamela Wallin as an example of profligate spending by the Consul General to NYC. Senator Wallin was in that post from 2002 to 2006. I remember watching, years ago, a "foodie" show episode in which the "chef" visited then CG Wallin's official residence in NYC (the one that is now going to be sold to pay for the new one) and in conjunction with the chef there (yes, Canada also hires a private chef for the CG in NYC) prepared a menu (featuring Canadian meat and produce) for a dinner party. That TV chef also did a similar program at Rideau Hall.

There is probably a lot of entertaining inherent in that position. In a 2003 G&M piece about "payback dinners", CG Waliin is quoted.

Payback dinners: never a good return

You drank their wine and ate their roast beef. Now you're expected to play host. Can you say 'no way' and still be invited back?

www.theglobeandmail.com

Pamela Wallin, Canadian consul-general for New York, hosts four to six events for visiting dignitaries and artists each week at her official residence in Manhattan. All of her dinner parties have a framework and an objective. Guests are chosen not on the basis of social chemistry, but for what expertise they can bring to the conversation.

Wallin's job is to facilitate and animate the discussion. "I think of it as a television show without the cameras," she said. As for the problem of payback dinners, Wallin says she can't remember the last time she was in such a circumstance. "I've become much more disciplined socially. In my current job, there is no payback in the traditional sense. People are always invited to dinner for an official reason."

But Senator Wallin's history as consul general was not ignored and became fodder for some media when she (along with a couple of other senators) became embroiled in controversary.

Big Wallin scoop: As consul in New York she held receptions. With flowers. And wine.

Big Star report reveals that Wallin spent her time as consul doing the job she was hired to do. There's no news value, but hey, it's about Pam Wallin.

nationalpost.com

The Toronto Star has a weird article about Pamela Wallin, which it is giving lots of attention.

It appears that when Wallin was consul general to New York for four years, she had a big travel and hospitality allowance. And she spent it, on travel, for instance, and providing hospitality. Which is basically what a consul general does.

The Star doesn’t allege that Wallin overspent, or misspent. In fact, it notes, her successor spent in pretty much the same manner. And once when an air fare was queried, she voluntarily paid it back.