Former Diplomats Confused Over Portrait Decision

Surprisingly, the most visible remnant of Britain's imperial past doesn't play so well in the colonies.

Former Canadian diplomats are lining up to question the sense behind the Conservative government's decree to hang pictures of Queen Elizabeth II in every embassy around the world. Paul Heinbecker, a former ambassador to the United Nations, told the Postmedia News that the portraits would “confuse the hell out of people” after Canada has spent decades trying to establish itself as independent of the British crown. Daryl Copeland, a frequent contributor to The Mark and a former diplomat, wondered what impact the move would have on the country's brand, as people in countries with less than stellar pasts with the U.K. (so, basically all of Asia and great swaths of Africa) might be a little less inclined to come to Canada if the first image they see is that of the monarch whose family had oppressed their forebears.