An open letter to Guy St-Jacques, Canada’s Lead Negotiator
Dear Guy,
Yesterday you took time out of your busy schedule to meet with the Canadian Youth Delegation. We spent a lot of time preparing for the meeting, drafting questions and prioritizing which questions we absolutely wanted to be able to ask you. You gave us way more of your time than any of us were expecting, and somehow, in the 45 minutes we spent together, managed to not answer any of our questions.
I aspire to one day master the art of evasion, and hope that you will perhaps mentor me in this indispensable skill. After all, as you demonstrated in yesterday’s meeting, you are highly capable of speaking at length about a subject without providing any new information. I wonder, however, if you unintentionally provided us with important information based on the questions that you most tenaciously avoided. For example, your reluctance to respond to direct questions about Canada’s position on the Kyoto Protocol was particularly telling.
I am, however, reluctant to question your tactics, as you so clearly know exactly what you are doing. In fact, it would be great if you could provide me with some advice. If I want to pursue a career in professional evasion, where would be the best place to start? Would it be here, at the United Nations, cutting my teeth on the international scene, or should I instead seek employment with the oil and gas lobby back in Canada? I have been incredibly impressed by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producer’s recent pro-tar sands publicity campaign, and wonder if perhaps there is a place for me there.
I would really appreciate it if you could share with me any advice that you may have, so that I can adjust my career trajectory accordingly. Perhaps we could get together some time soon over bottled water and fancy drinks in an exclusive resort to discuss this further.
Yours truly,
Erica Nickels
CYD-DJC 