Overview
At the moment, there is no single book-length work that gives practical information on the working-level careers of Canada’s 21st-century Foreign Service Officers, the impact their work has on their lives and the lives of their families, or the value they bring to Canadians. There are also no histories of the Canadian Foreign Service from the perspective of the FS community itself. PAFSO’s 60th anniversary provides an opportunity to address these gaps and explain why the Canadian public should care about us and our work. The book will also allow us to tell the public, and potential recruits, the things we want them to know about the realities of Foreign Service work.
Approach
A mix of original essays, interviews, and materials from bout de papier to illustrate key moments in the history of the Foreign Service group. The tone is both frank and optimistic, highlighting both the dedication of members and the challenges they face.
Our Ask
We are inviting writers to contribute their stories, insights, and reflections on life in the Canadian Foreign Service. If you are interested in being a part of this project commemorating PAFSO and the Canadian Foreign Service, please write to us.
Whether you’ve been involved with us for decades, or are entirely new to PAFSO, we value your perspective. We are looking for a diverse range of voices who are interested in writing about the following:
- Historical events through the eyes of the Canadian Foreign Service;
- Interesting or underappreciated aspects of a Canadian Foreign Service career;
- Important moments in PAFSO’s history;
- Personal stories, milestones, achievements, and challenges overcome.
How to Participate
- Submission guidelines: Please submit a brief pitch for your piece by March 15th, 2025. Final contributions will be due in late spring.
- Contact: Adam.Beauchemin@pafso-apase.com
- Project length: Roughly 1000 to 1500 words.
- Language: English and French.
We look forward to hearing your story ideas!
Working Outline
Pre-PAFSO
- Mackenzie King and the Onset of War, 1937-1941 by James A. Gibson (6.01) 1988
- 1957: Les femmes font leur entrée au service extérieur de l’Immigration du Canada by Sheena Trimble (30.1) 2017
- First Days in the Foreign Service, 1952 by Michael Shenstone (24.02) 2009
- The Sporting Life by Sidney A. Freifeld (5.03) 1987
1960
- Cockroaches and Caviar by Mary Taylor (14.3) 1997
1970
- The War’s Aftermath and Canada’s Compassionate Response by Peter Duschinksy (28.4) 2015
- Je me souviens by George Léger (2.2) 1984
- Living on Adrenalin by Kurt F. Jensen (28.4) 2015
1980
- Containment: Forty Years Later by George Grande, John Halstead, John Holmes and George Ignatieff (5.03) 1987
- Baghdad Then and Now by Eric Wang (21.3) 2005
1990
- Women in the Foreign Service: Do They Have Legitimate Career Complaints? By Margaret Ford (7.03) 1990
- Si j’avais écouté mon père… ou ma mère! by Marcelle Dumoulin (8.2) 1991
- Coming Dear… Twenty-five years as a Foreign Service Wife by Laurel Pardy (10.4) 1993
- A Road in Sri Lanka by Adrian Norfolk (11.2) 1994
- Somalia: Movin Around in a Country of Nomads by Chris Cooter and Chris Liebich (12.2) 1995
- Sarajevo Days: 1995-96 by Geoff Garshore (14.2) 1997
- The 1990 Iraqi Invasion and Annexation of Kuwait: A Rooftop View by Gary Luton (29.2) 2016
- Sexual Orientation and the Public Service: The Changing Workplace by Liza Linklater (15.2) 1998
- Towards a New World Order by Ross Campbell (10.1) 1993
- Une promenade au marché de Pultusk by Anne Leahy (10.3) 1993
2000
- The Ghosts of Afghanistan by Pam Isfeld (32.1) 2022
- Lorsque la mort se joint à l’éloignement by Jean Gauthier (17.3) 2000
- Aventures dans les mantagnes de l’Elbourz by Élise Racicot (23.3) 2008
- Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Thoughts on Canada’s World in 2003 by Daryl Copeland (20.1) 2003
- A 21st Century Foreign Service Career by David Malone (19.4) 2003
2010
- We Believed: How Canada Resettled 25,000 Syrian Refugees in Three Months by Zal Karkaria (30.1) 2017
- The Foreign Service Strikes for Equal Pay by Tim Edwards (27.2) 2013
- Le remarquable programme d’échange entre le MDN et le MAECD: Diplomacy Meets the Chain of Command by Sébastien Bouchard & Suneeta Millington (28.1) 2014
- “Post-Mortem” Interview with PAFSO President Tim Edwards (28.4) 2015
- Évacuation des Canadiens au Népal: mission accompli by Frank Asi Talatini (29.2) 2016
- Twenty-Five Years On, Some Ghosts Are Still With Us by Mark Allen (30.2) 2017
- Ripples in the Pond: Reflections of a Diplobrat by Jade Puddington (30.3) 2018
2020
- Cancer on Three Continents by Nadia Stuewer (32.2) 2022
- En Thaïlande à l’heure de la COVID-19 by Grégoir-François Legault (31.2) 2021
- Hockey Sock Diplomacy: Striking Gold in the Philippines by Ian McGrath (32.3) 2023
- Teamwork takes flight by Tammy Ames (31.2) 2021
- Trans-mission by Holly Jacobs (33.2) 2024
Some Topics We Would Like to See Covered
- Formation of PAFSO
- USA/Canada Free Trade Agreement
- NAFTA Negotiations
- Establishment of the International Criminal Court
- Negotiations leading to the Law of the Sea Convention
- Single/unaccompanied officers
- 9/11
- Psychological well-being
- DFAIT (Removal of Migration stream from DFAIT & Amalgamation of CIDA/DFAIT)
- Amalgamation of the Trade Stream
- Conditions of service (FSDs, health care)
- International development
- Who is the foreign service officer of the future?