By Canadian Press

Red tape getting in the way of foreign staff security: union

Nov 21, 2018 | 2:54 PM

OTTAWA — The union representing Canadian diplomats has blamed an overabundance of red tape for the government’s failure to ensure staff stationed overseas are kept safe.

Federal auditor general Michael Ferguson revealed this week that there are “significant” security failings at Canada’s embassies and diplomatic missions needing immediate attention.

Yet Pamela Isfeld, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, said many of the concerns highlighted by the auditor general are now new — bureaucracy has just often gotten in the way of fixing them.

“It’s not one of those questions of people not seeing the issue or not understanding the issue,” Isfeld told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

“It’s just a question of how to get the system moving and make it clear that … there needs to be more of a priority of getting it done and maybe less on some of the bureaucratic red tape that can get in the way.”

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Isfeld acknowledged staff in foreign missions face a wide and ever-evolving range of risks which can make it difficult to ensure their personal safety — but they still deserve to be protected.

“We’ve had people injured by IEDs (improvised explosive devices), we’ve had people affected by natural disasters and earthquakes,” she said. “There are real risks associated with serving Canada abroad.”

Ferguson’s audit found the government was not properly protecting diplomats and staff who face security threats at missions abroad, including many in locations at high risk of terrorist attacks, violence and espionage.

“Significant” vulnerabilities were identified at all six medium- and high-threat missions examined as part of the audit, including surveillance cameras, alarms and X-ray machines that were missing or not working properly.

Assessments to measure threats and vulnerabilities at many of the locations were also woefully out of date and, for a few, missing entirely. In addition construction projects to upgrade security were at least three years behind in most cases, mainly due to poor oversight.

More than 7,800 staff members work at a total of 175 diplomatic and consular missions in 110 countries. In November 2017, more than half of the department worked in areas where political and civil unrest put their safety at risk.

During his audit, Ferguson found concerns had previously been raised about many of the security problems he uncovered, but recommended steps to address these deficiencies hadn’t been followed.

Gar Pardy, a retired Canadian diplomat who served in Central America, says he was not surprised by the auditor general’s findings, as he believes security concerns have always been an issue at embassies and missions abroad.

The fact these buildings are often open to the public because they provide consular services such as visas for travellers adds an extra layer of complexity when it comes to addressing the problems.

“It certainly, historically, has always been a problem in just about every mission I’ve served in overseas, and you’re never quite sure that what you did yesterday is going to meet the problem that you’re going to have tomorrow,” he said.

An internal evaluation of Global Affairs’ consular program published earlier this year appeared to echo some of the auditor general’s concerns.

It noted there were no measures to ensure “the safety and security” of consular officers while they were doing their jobs.

Meanwhile, both Pardy and Isfeld pointed to the situation in Havana, Cuba, as an example of potential new threats that overseas staff could be exposed to while the department struggles to keep up with existing known security concerns.

A handful of Canadian diplomats mysteriously fell ill in Cuba last year, but investigators continue to search for the cause of their symptoms.

While these illnesses could be wholly unrelated to any actual security risks, Pardy says the fact remains that Canadian mission staff in Cuba were harmed.

“What it does illustrate is the changing nature, sometimes, about the threats that our people face when they’re overseas.”

As for whether government is doing enough to address existing security gaps, Pardy says he does not have any great hope the situation will improve. Senior managers at Global Affairs have long been too slow to respond to the world’s shifting security landscape, he said.

“Things don’t get done and, as a result of that, the auditor general can pretty much write the report today for what he might want to say 10 years from now.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday that security for overseas staff is a priority. The Liberals have promised to spend $1.8 billion over 10 years to bolster security at diplomatic compounds.

— Follow @ReporterTeresa on Twitter.

Teresa Wright, The Canadian Press