America’s top diplomat, John Kerry, was in Ottawa on this date in 2014 for talks with Prime Minister Stephen J. Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird. The Secretary of State’s visit to our capital came only days after Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo were killed in separate terrorist attacks, one on Parliament Hill, itself.
“It’s an honour for me to be here,” Kerry said, speaking in French, “(and) a privilege for me to represent President Obama, the United States of America, and all American citizens in expressing our deep solidarity with our country’s closest ally. Just as you have so often stood with us, we’re proud to be here, standing with you today.”
“As Prime Minister Harper said,” Kerry continued, “Canada will not be intimidated and Canada will not hate, for fear is not the answer to any question, and hate is not the solution to the challenges we face. Together on this side of the Atlantic and where necessary overseas, we will defeat the advocates and practitioners of terror, expose their hypocrisy, and we will win the battle of ideas. In so doing, we will be true to our own principles and values, which we share so closely with our neighbour, Canada. And that is the only sure path by which to find the outcome that we all seek.”caption id="attachment_1354597" align="alignleft" width="514"
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Minister John Baird and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Ottawa, October 28, 2014/captionArthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.