Canada. Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service : The Royal Commission On Conditions of Foreign Service was established under Order in Council P.C. 2336, 27 August 1980, as amended by Order in Council P.C. 2457, 12 September 1980 under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., c.I-13, 1970) and on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Commission was mandated to inquire into changes in the conditions of foreign service and to report on steps that the government might take to accommodate them in the context of its approach to the legal, administrative and operational frameworks of the foreign service, with particular attention to: (a) the views of persons serving in the foreign service and their families; (b) the views of organizations and associations representing members of the foreign service and their families; (c) the views of the departments and agencies responsible for the management of the foreign service; (d) and the views of persons both within and outside of government who make direct use of the foreign service. The commissioner was Pamela A. McDougall. The secretary was J.G. Valiquette.
On 21 March 1980, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that the federal government intended to consolidate the foreign service of Canada. Besides foreign policy, the Department of External Affairs eventually would be responsible for the Canadian Government Office of Tourism, international trade policy, trade promotion and related fields. At that time, Trudeau expressed concern that the terms and conditions governing foreign service assignments were "leading to declining morale among members of the foreign service and their families." He observed that "this could seriously undermine the high level of effectiveness at which the foreign service operates, a level which has long been recognized and envied in the international community." Consequently, he decided to appoint a royal commission into conditions of foreign service under the direction of Pamela McDougall.
In a letter to McDougall of 28 August, Trudeau elaborated on his views on the lack of morale in the foreign service. Trudeau wrote as follows:
"I wish to touch on the dissatisfaction which seems to be prevalent in the foreign service; a dissatisfaction which relates to the role of Foreign Service Officers, the various roles of the foreign service itself and how both of these are provided, both within the foreign service and externally. Related to this is a general dissatisfaction with foreign service conditions."
His point was that this dissatisfaction may be undermining motivation. He suggested to McDougall that: "One of the reasons for a declining sense of motivation in the foreign service may be based in the related facts of the growth of that service and its increasing reliance on systematic and bureaucratized management."
It was up to McDougall to look at the existing situation and to recommend changes the government might make to improve its management of foreign service operations and conditions for personnel. It was obvious, for example, that foreign service officers often faced disruptions in their family life and, at times, their physical security was in danger, especially in more hazardous posts.
Trudeau also suggested to McDougall that perceptions regarding the foreign service of Canada may be outmoded.
"Part of the problem", Trudeau observed, "may be that general perceptions of the foreign service, as well as perceptions within the ranks of that service, are based on a concept of diplomatic practice grounded in an age which has disappeared and which, in any case, predates Canadian experience. Traditional concepts of foreign service have dismissed relevance in an era of instantaneous, world-wide communications, in which there is increasing reliance on personal contacts between senior members of governments, and in which international relations are concerned with progressively more complex and technical questions" (see Correspondence, Prime Minister Trudeau to Pamela A. McDougall, 28 August 1980 and Press Release, Office of the Prime Minister 28 August 1980, Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service, Ottawa, Supply and Services Canada, 1981, pp. vii-ix and RG 33/126, Vol. 1).
No public hearings were held but the commission held several meetings between, 2 September 1980 and 9 October 1981, and visited over 40 per cent of Canada's 119 posts abroad. Approximately 2400 members of the foreign service answered questionnaires. In addition, the commission received 806 submissions from individuals and from groups including foreign service officers and their spouses, administrative support staff and foreign service staff associations. RG33-129 General Inventory
