Embassies in Ottawa offer ‘around the clock’ support in the new work-from-home reality

Embassies in Ottawa are shutting their doors, restricting hours, staffing 24-7 emergency lines, and co-ordinating flights for those stranded in Canada in what diplomats describe as “around-the-clock” support dealing with the demands of “unusual and unprecedented” times brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Ecuador Ambassador Diego Stacey said his consular officials are busy supporting their most vulnerable nationals, including finding lodging for those who cannot afford a hotel. That’s meant generous members of the Ecuadorian community in Canada opening their doors, he said. “You don't know how big is the heart of Ecuadorians open their houses in these very difficult conditions,” said Mr. Stacey, whose country had 532 cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data as of March 22. “The solidarity is impressive even though they have to take care of their families as well.” On March 18, Canada closed its borders to nearly all foreign nationals and all international flights except to four major airports, with major carriers like Air Canada saying they would “gradually suspend the majority of overseas flights by the end of March." Two flights will leave this week from Toronto to Ecuador's capital, Quito, to return stranded Canadians who had no chance of returning home with airports closed until April 5, Mr. Stacey said. Nationals stranded outside their home country is a common concern diplomats are currently dealing with, including many Ecuadorians in Canada, said Mr. Stacey whose office is fielding calls, mainly from students attending Canadian schools. Canada announced its own operations to help Canadians get home on March 21, telling travellers to register with Global Affairs Canada, though Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice–Champlain, Que.) said some may be stranded for weeks as borders close. The novel coronavirus has spread rapidly across the world and is “accelerating,” warned WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on March 23, with more than 335,000 cases and more than 14,500 deaths recorded in 190 countries and territories. Like most, Mr. Stacey’s country offers its own directives but also suggests its embassy in Canada follow the advice of local authorities, and so, the 90 diplomats at the mission and three consulates are working “100 per cent from home” in light of recommendations from Canadian health officials, he said. “We are extremely concerned, but we think that fear should not paralyze us, that we should go forward. This will have an end,” Mr. Stacey said in a phone interview March 23. Given the “very unusual and unprecedented” times, Japanese Ambassador to Canada Yasuhisa Kawamura said solidarity is one of the most important things. As G7 countries, Japan and Canada are “major partners and players” and he said the foreign ministers have agreed to co-ordinate in a number of areas, including public health measures and economic growth to create a “rather encouraging environment” within the international community. Japan had reported more than 1,000 cases and 41 deaths to the WHO as of March 22. “Not a single country can cope alone,” he said. “International co-operation is the key word for the strategy we should employ.” Several diplomats told The Hill Times sharing experiences in responding to the outbreak is crucial, and they looked forward to such co-operation with Canadian officials. “It would be welcome for any contact or co-operation between public health authorities today and in the future,” Mr. Stacey said. ‘We’re in uncharted territory’ German Ambassador Sabine Sparwasser has spent time posted in the Middle East and Afghanistan and has experienced her share of “difficult and critical situations” over a long career. “But none of us has ever seen anything like this,” she said in a phone interview March 20. “We’re in uncharted territory.” “It is an unprecedented situation and I think we all now understand how severe this crisis is. It took us a while to understand how serious this is going to be but I think now we do have the kind of response and now it depends on what our governments do and very much on what our citizens do,” she said. Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered a similar, sobering message, saying the country had not faced as serious a challenge since German unification. As a leader often “very sober” and “very moderate” in her approach, Ms. Sparwasser said such a serious message from the chancellor made it so that people “took heed and listened to it.” Germany, which the WHO reported had almost 25,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and 94 deaths as of March 22, is “in a very exposed situation,” she said, but is doing as much as it can to slow the spread of the virus. In Canada, offering consular support in the face of a pandemic and closing borders becomes an increasingly “complex thing to do in the circumstances where everybody's stretched to the limit,” she said. Throughout the diplomatic corps in Ottawa, there’s been widespread cancellation of events, with embassies sending out apologies in mid-March. Most ambassadors who spoke to The Hill Times said staff were working on reduced office hours and keeping staff separate, with most offering one or two at the embassy for urgent in-person matters. All said they are offering 24-7 support through email and telephone lines, which they say are busy. Slovak Ambassador to Canada Vít Koziak says it's 'crucial' to provide reliable information in response to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. The Hill Times photograph by Samantha Wright Allen The Slovak Embassy, for example, limits required personal visits only for emergencies. While plenty of embassy staff are spread all across the city, Slovak Ambassador Vit Koziak said they're at an advantage with practically all its staff living and working in the same compound. Mr. Koziak said the “primary task” now is helping Slovak citizens in Canada or those who had planned to travel here and are dealing with the fallout of “this quickly evolving situation.” “Providing reliable, continuously updated information at this time is crucial,” he said by email March 19. Slovakia had 185 confirmed cases and no deaths as of March 23, among the least in neighbouring countries though Austria, to its west, had the most, at more than 3,600. Working ‘around the clock’ Like most in the international community, Kuwait's Ambassador to Canada, Reem Al Khaled, said she and her staff had been following the unfolding escalations with COVID-19 and “did not expect it to be spreading in such a massive way.” They are working “around the clock” to address citizens' concerns, Ms. Al Khaled said by email March 20, with preparations underway to evacuate Kuwaiti citizens in Canada in case of an emergency. Kuwait’s Ambassador to Canada Reem Al Khaled is the first woman diplomat from her country named to North America, and third as head of mission. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The embassy is “fully operational,” but with reduced working hours, and adopting “strict personal hygiene measures and conducting the recommended social distancing,” she said, though staff are permitted to work remotely if they have symptoms or for preventive purposes. “Kuwait commends the measures being taken by Canada, which are based on science and expert opinion. As such, we are learning the best practices from each other,” she said. Stressing that the office is there to offer a helping hand, she said she’s confident that with the necessary measures taken to prevent COVID-19, “we are fully confident that together we will pass this dreadful ordeal. We shall unwaveringly join hands to defeat the evil COVID-19 outbreak and we will ultimately succeed.” Slovenia’s Embassy moved to have all locals work from home on March 16, while the ambassador, Melita Gabric, and the diplomat taking charge of consular affairs both work from the office. Like other embassies, it stressed use of social media as an avenue to keep citizens informed, with updates from Global Affairs Canada relayed publicly to their audience, the office said by email March 19. The Afghanistan Embassy said by email March 19 it had taken all precautionary measures listed in Canadian guidelines, cancelling planned events and meetings ”until further notice,” while half the staff work from home and consular services limited to the most urgent cases. Afghanistan, where WHO had reported 40 cases and one death as of March 22, has not yet requested any kind of support for the outbreak, the embassy said, though it believes the country “can benefit from experience sharing at this very important time.” Jamaican High Commissioner Janice Miller echoed Ms. Sparwasser’s assessment that with a global crisis, countries need to answer globally, especially in researching a vaccine and finding effective testing as quickly as possible. Ms. Miller said her office is sending constant messages out to the large diaspora of about 300,000 Jamaicans in Canada and while isolation is important for containing pandemic, she hopes it's temporary. “I hope it doesn't become modus operandi for everything going forward in terms of movement of persons and so on,” she said in a phone interview March 19. “As everything settles down, I hope that will not take isolation as a way that things should be all the time.” swallen@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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Diplomatic Circles

Embassies in Ottawa offer ‘around the clock’ support in the new work-from-home reality

Envoys comment on the ‘uncharted territory’ brought forward by the ‘dreadful ordeal’ COVID-19 brings, and urge co-operation in the global response.

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