Consular Corps
by Sandra McKenzie
Diplomacy is the primary vehicle by which nations communicate political concerns, negotiate trade deals, settle disputes and protect the interests of their citizens abroad. At the senior diplomatic level are the embassies or, among the Commonwealth nations, high commissions, located in the host nation’s capital. Typically embassies wrangle with high-level contentious political and economic issues such as, say turbot over-fishing or human rights violations. In Canada 112 nations post ambassadorial staff in Ottawa while another 50 countries oversee their North American interests from embassies in Washington, DC.
At the junior level of the diplomatic community are the consulates, which usually handle the day- to-day bureaucratic and commercial interests of their country. They process visa and passport applications, promote trade and tourism, and provide legal advice and support to their citizens traveling abroad who have run afoul of local law. While embassies are always located in the national capital, consulates are scattered throughout the country’s major cities. Montreal has 88 consulates, Toronto 82 and Vancouver 64.
Consulates can be headed by either career diplomats who are citizens of the state they represent or by honorary consuls. Appointing an honorary consul is frequently a cost-saving measure, preserving a diplomatic presence without the overhead of staffing. But sometimes the appointment confers an entree into Canadian political life. Singapore, for example, has former Chief Justice Nathan Nemetz as honorary consul general. Though Mr. Nemetz is not directly involved with consulate work, he does bring high-level political connections to the job.
An honorary consul is a private citizen appointed by a foreign government to represent its interests. In Vancouver 26 consulates are staffed by full-time career diplomats and 38 by Canadian residents. In most instances honorary consuls serve a primarily titular function, leaving the actual business of the post to the professionals. But some appointees play a more direct role. Jeffery Moore, for instance, who is El Salvador’s consul in Vancouver, organizes shipments of tools, equipment and school supplies to El Salvador.
While an honorary consul usually has close links, either by birth or business, with the country he or she represents, this is not necessarily the case. Vancouver horologist Raymond Saunders, best known for restoring the Gastown steam clock, is honorary consul for Guinea, a country he has never visited and in which he has no special interests. Saunders sought the job and paid several thousands of dollars for the privilege. While Saunders hasn’t divulged the exact amount he paid, the estimated price for an honorary consulship in Western Canada runs as high as $25,000, plus any expenses incurred.
For about the price of a country-club membership, the appointment virtually guarantees an entry to the cocktails-and-canapes circuit. Among the more interesting social and economic doors that suddenly swing open are invitations to dinner with visiting Royals and reserved seats at major events such as the Commonwealth Games. A diplomatic association with a major country can bring in as many as 300 invitations a year. Other perks include diplomatic license plates, which allow the bearer to park darned near anywhere he or she pleases. While an honorary consul may hold dual citizenship (granted at the discretion of the country represented), he or she does not enjoy diplomatic immunity and cannot claim exemption from Canadian law.
In Vancouver the first consulate to be recognized by the Canadian government belonged to Chile, which established its interests here in 1892, naming M.P. Morris as the honorary consul general. Brazil followed Chile’s lead in 1915 and in 1920 Belgium became the third country to appoint a consul to Vancouver. In contrast the U.S. waited until 1928 before establishing a consulate here. Great Britain joined ranks after 1930. The most recent arrival on the diplomatic scene is Belize, which established its Vancouver presence in 1995.
What, precisely, were Chile’s early interests in a rag-tag town in the Pacific Northwest! The answer, if it exists, is buried deep in the archives in Santiago, though the current Chilean consulate staff speculate that they might have been protecting shipping interests and possibly monitoring the welfare of migrant miners seeking work in British Columbia’s copper mines. In any case Chile’s Vancouver consulate remained an honorary posting until 1990 when it was upgraded to a full-time, professional office.
Trickier to determine is the size of any given consulate. For diplomatic purposes, consulates are ranked equally. Though the world is currently a relatively quiet place, for security reasons several countries do not publish any personnel details, including staffing figures. However the People’s Republic of China, which occupies two buildings on Granville Street, maintains the largest full- time staff.
Longest serving of all local consular officials was Vancouver businessman Frank Bernard, vice- consul for Spain from 1940 to 1989, an astonishing 49 years.
Vancouver’s prominence as a centre for diplomatic activity is a recent phenomenon, dating back only to about 1990. In the past six years 20 nations, including former Soviet bloc countries like the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary and Poland, have either established a presence here or have upgraded their operations. According to David Harris, chief of protocol for the provincial government, the reason is Vancouver’s geographical position as a meeting point for Asian and European interests. With its relatively balmy climate, Pacific Rim connections and burgeoning high-tech economy, Vancouver has become a door to the world. For countries such as Indonesia, India, Malaysia and South Korea, Vancouver is a gateway to the North American market. Europeans, on the other hand, view it as an opening to Asia.
Some countries have foregone embassies in Ottawa and have, instead, concentrated their resources in Vancouver. Belize, for example, closed its embassy in 1993 and opened an office here in 1993. Singapore, which maintains a full-time consulate staff on the West Coast, relies on a consulate in Manhattan to handle other Canadian affairs.
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