# Canadian Parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms Named Ambassador to Ireland **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371 "2015-01-09T03:03:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/21 "2015-01-14T01:22:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > [This article](http://thelambda.ca/2013/01/23/idle-no-more-protest-visits-parliament-hill/) shows a pretty good diplomatic sense. That’s the event I was thinking of; such respect, aplomb and dignity in his response. He added even more gravity to entire situation and it’s hard for me to think of a comparable response from a US law enforcement body. (I hope someone proves me wrong w/ a cite very soon.) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/22 "2015-01-14T03:22:35Z")
I read the article and it mentioned that this incident was the first time in his career he’d had to shoot his firearm in a live situation. He got it right the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/23 "2015-01-18T21:04:21Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Hmmm… wait a minute. Let me pitch a TV show… > > A no-nonsense Canadian Diplomat who’s packing meets a beautiful young idealistic Irish government liason… and between high level government meetings, the two head to various scenic and beautiful points in Ireland fighting crime. > > Yes, but would “Vickers-Valiant” fly in Ireland…? Get it on Amazon Prime and I’d watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/24 "2015-01-24T08:28:54Z")
Mr. Vickers has started his new job: [Kevin Vickers Begins New Job As Canada’s Ambassador To Ireland](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/21/kevin-vickers-irish-ambassador_n_6520288.html) Good luck, Mr. Vickers! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/25 "2015-05-18T12:36:17Z")
Ambassador Vickers received an honorary degree from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, and gave the graduation speech. Full speech is available on-line: [Kevin Vickers speech](http://www.cbc.ca/news/kevin-vickers-speech-1.3070509). Just a caution for those with sensitive eyes: there seems to be an awful lot of internet dust on the CBC feed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/26 "2015-05-19T14:55:50Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Mr. Vickers has started his new job: > > [Kevin Vickers Begins New Job As Canada’s Ambassador To Ireland](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/21/kevin-vickers-irish-ambassador_n_6520288.html) > > Good luck, Mr. Vickers! Yeow! Gandalf meets Bilbo Baggins. > ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/27 "2015-05-19T15:13:57Z")
I hear they call him The Mountain That Moves. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/28 "2015-05-19T19:22:14Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > At least in the US there are ambassadorships to, like, Pakistan where you send somebody who has busted their ass in the region with the Foreign Service their whole career and is a lifetime expert on Pakistani culture and politics, and then there are ambassadorships to France where you send somebody who gave a LOT of money to your campaign and you would like to reward them. One assumes Canada is not dissimilar. I thought that places like Pakistan were where you send the obsequious ass-kisser who you secretly want to punish with a crappy assignment. Which is still better than something like Libya, which pretty clearly sends the message “You screwed up _badly_.” In terms of desirability, Ireland is probably in the 95th percentile, at least 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/29 "2015-05-20T03:28:00Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I was discussing this with a friend of mine. His sister-in-law is the Ambassador/High Commissioner to 2 countries (they share an Embassy in one of the countries). Career employees get these kinds of postings because there is not a huge support staff and they need the experience working up the ranks to do the job. Prestige postings like the UK, US, etc. are often patronage appointments as they have a larger staff who can do the consular stuff while the ambassador can meet heads of state and business delegations. Okay, sorry for the hijack, but… where on the scale of sinecure to significant does the Ambassadorship to the United States fall? I mean, on the one hand, I’ve seen the Canadian Embassy in Washington; it’s big. As **Fins** said, the Ambassador must have a good-sized staff and plenty o’ experts to help him or her. As far as posts go, Washington is hardly a hardship duty; friendly nation, culturally very similar to Canada, common language. Plus D.C. is close enough that the Ambassador can go home for a long weekend, should he or she suffer an attack of homesickness. Sounds like a plum for a crony or a big campaign donor. On the other hand, the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, and the two countries share the longest undefended border in the world. We don’t always see eye to eye, either. And, at the risk of sounding jingoistic, the U.S. is a rather more significant player in the world than, say, Uzbekistan. So maybe it’s a post where Ottawa wants a experienced pro. Any thoughts, Dopers of the Great White North? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/30 "2015-05-20T17:24:18Z")
The things I liked most in his speech were his discussions of the morning after the shooting, when he woke up at 5 am, crying. He said it was the loneliest moment in his life - not what you expect from a veteran Mountie. Then his Mom called from New Brunswick, saying he should come home because his kids needed him. He said he’d stay in Ottawa. His Mom called the next day, and the next, with the same message. It finally dawned on him: she was telling him that he needed to be home with his family, so he hopped in his truck and drive home. There, surrounded by family, they had a private Mass. With his grandchildren in his arms, he prayed for Michael: the man he killed four days before. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/31 "2015-05-20T20:21:15Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Okay, sorry for the hijack, but… where on the scale of sinecure to significant does the Ambassadorship to the United States fall? > > I mean, on the one hand, I’ve seen the Canadian Embassy in Washington; it’s big. As **Fins** said, the Ambassador must have a good-sized staff and plenty o’ experts to help him or her. As far as posts go, Washington is hardly a hardship duty; friendly nation, culturally very similar to Canada, common language. Plus D.C. is close enough that the Ambassador can go home for a long weekend, should he or she suffer an attack of homesickness. Sounds like a plum for a crony or a big campaign donor. > > On the other hand, the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, and the two countries share the longest undefended border in the world. We don’t always see eye to eye, either. And, at the risk of sounding jingoistic, the U.S. is a rather more significant player in the world than, say, Uzbekistan. So maybe it’s a post where Ottawa wants a experienced pro. > > Any thoughts, Dopers of the Great White North? Well, the last three ambassadors were two former premiers and a prominent federal cabinet minister, so that’s some high level experience. It also can be surprisingly bipartisan. The current ambassador was a member of the New Democratic Party (our most left mainstream party), but was appointed by a Conservative Prime Minister (our most right mainstream party). That said, a former ambassador was the nephew of the Prime Minster who appointed him. On the other, other hand, he had a number of postings in other nations, so there’s that. So I’m going to say, IMHO, the ambassadors in general look like a distinguished bunch, so yes, it definitely appears to be “experienced pro”. It may be a “plum”, but it doesn’t appear to be “crony”. Now, what I didn’t know until I did some fact-checking for this post, our ambassador to the USA is officially titled “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary”. Who knew? Before that title was conferred in the mid forties, it was “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.” There’s a line I’d like on my resume. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371/32 "2015-05-20T20:30:35Z")
I know that in the US, ambassadorships can go to major donors to the President’s campaign, but off-hand I can’t think of any “crony” ambassador appointments from Canada. They’re mainly a mixture of professional diplomats and former politicians - not in a patronage sense, but in the sense of respected politicians who will do a good job. As for where the US ranks, I would say that is the #1 ambassadorial posting for Canada, likely followed by the UK, France and the UN - just my guess, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-parliaments-sergeant-at-arms-named-ambassador-to-ireland/709371.md?page=1)