Event Date: February 25, 2014 - 3:00 pm
Location: FSS4004, 120 Université Privé, Ottawa
TIM EDWARDS, Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO)
Presented by CIPS and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA).
Free. In English. Registration is not required. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.
Audio:
[audio:http://web20.uottawa.ca/academic/socialsciences/cepi-cips/Edwards_20140225.mp3]
Wage inconsistencies and the lack of promotional exercises were among the chief complaints that diplomats had before they started one of the longest job actions in the federal public service. Tim Edwards, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, reflects on the realities and challenges of Canada’s foreign service officers in this day and age.
Tim Edwards is President of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, the bargaining agent for Canada’s non-executive diplomats. Elected in 2011, Mr. Edwards led the Association and its 1,350 members through the longest strike in federal public service history – nearly six months – in the spring and summer of 2013. A career diplomat, Mr. Edwards joined the political-economic stream of Canada’s Foreign Service in 2003 and has worked at headquarters in Ottawa on human rights, North Korea, Iran’s nuclear program, and WMD threat reduction. From 2006 to 2008, he served as head of public affairs at the Canadian consulate general in Hong Kong. Prior to joining government, Mr. Edwards worked at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He holds a BA (History & Political Science) from McGill University and completed a Master’s thesis in International Relations at York University .