Foreign Affairs Canada

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:FIP Foreign Affairs Canada.PNG Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC), legally the Foreign Affairs section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, is a department of the government of Canada with responsibility for foreign policy and diplomacy. The department is headquartered in the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa.

FAC was created in December 2003 by splitting the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in a federal government reorganization.

The department was once called The Department of External Affairs, the word foreign being deliberately avoided since the department was founded while Canada's foreign policy was still controlled by the United Kingdom. The department's name was changed in 1993.

On February 15, 2005 the legislation to legally remove DFAIT from the books and establish a Department of Foreign Affairs did not pass the first vote in the Canadian House of Commons. Future legislative changes are unclear at this time.

In early 2006, as a part of the new Harper Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs Canada and the Department of International Trade Canada were rejoined after having been separated during the previous government. The details are still unclear on what exactly this will mean for DFAIT

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