Holidaying it Up at the Canadian Embassy

It's the holiday season and I'm am due back at the Canadian Embassy for another round of celebrating North American cross border cooperation! Well, hmmm, not me exactly, more like the guy who invited me was ... (not exactly sure how they do up their Embassy reception list...)

Now, if I was a Conservative/Reform/Alliance supporter - I'd feel it was my duty to report back to the Canadian taxpayer and say how the Father of the GST felt inclined to spent your tax dollars greasing the wheel of CAN-US trade relations (with an open bar, these delicious cheese artichoke thingies, and of course - mini sandwiches chocked full of Alberta beef)... I, however, am inclined to take a more open view of things, and appreciate the more subtle art of diplomacy and recognize that reception can actually do miracles in promoting CAN-US relations.

There was an interesting mix of US government officials and business reps(that I guess have a business interests in Canada) as well as Canadian Embassy staff and other random guests (this blogger being one of them).

Conversation ranged from: "what is a nation?" (are there different connotations or underpinnings of the meaning "nation" in French than in English?), to the importance (or lack there of) of dual citizenship.

The keynote speaker raised the three main areas of CAN and US collaboration. And to the backdrop of classical Christmassy music - his number one issue was not what I expected... Climate Change! Combating terrorism came in only 3rd on the list...

Could this be an indication of a changing CAN-US dialogue post a newly elected Democrat House and Senate? Or was "combating terrorism" last on the list for emphasis? A sort of crescendo towards the end of a paragraph? I don't know.

All that to say, that since my last, July 4th visit at the Embassy, when Alberta's leaders and trade ambassadors were highly prominent, this reception (held in the main hall - instead of on the roof deck) - held a slightly different tone... Felt to me like the cold December wind that buffeted the building last night, also brought with it a whiff of changing times...