Never Send A Cheerleader to Do A Diplomat's Job

Case in point:

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she and her department were unaware of intelligence reports delivered weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which diplomats in Kyiv were told Ukrainians who worked for the Canadian embassy there were likely on lists of people Moscow intended to detain or kill.

The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week that, after receiving the intelligence, the Canadian diplomats were given clear instructions from Ottawa on how to proceed: Don’t share any of the information with the Ukrainian staff members, despite the apparently dire situation, and don’t help them flee.

“Morally, we have an obligation toward our locally engaged staff,” Ms. Joly said on Wednesday at a news conference in Montreal, after being asked about The Globe’s report. She added that Global Affairs Canada is in the midst of an internal process that is examining this and other issues.

“Never did I or the department have any information targeting locally engaged staff,” she said.

“We never got that information. [Not] me, nor my team, nor the department.”

 

First of all, rubbish.

Secondly, do your job.