THE GLOBAL EXCHANGE PODCAST

June 7, 2021

In this episode of The Global Exchange, Colin Robertson explores the role of the sherpas with Senators Peter Boehm and Hon. Peter Harder, and Jonathan Fried.

Participant Biographies:

• Senator Peter M. Boehm holds a Ph.D in History from the University of Edinburgh, a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from Wilfrid Laurier University.
  He was Deputy Minister for the G7 Summit and Personal Representative of the Prime Minister (Sherpa) from July 2017, until his retirement from the public service in September 2018. Peter Boehm had previously been Deputy Minister of International Development, Associate, and, subsequently, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 2013 to 2017, he concurrently served as Sherpa for the G8 and subsequent G7 Summits, as well as the Nuclear Security Summit. 
• Hon. Peter Harder entered the Upper Chamber in April 2016, as the first Independent Senator appointed under a new non-partisan selection process that invites all eligible Canadians to submit applications. He arrived in the Senate with nearly 30 years of experience in the federal public service, and a decade serving as a volunteer in various organizations and as a member of several boards of directors. He also served as president of the Canada China Business Council. 
• Jonathan Fried’s distinguished diplomatic career for Canada spanned law, economics and trade.  Prior to his retirement in August, 2020, he was Coordinator for International Economic Relations at Global Affairs Canada, with a mandate encompassing responses to the COVID pandemic, and Canada-Asia and other international trade and economic matters.  From 2017 to early 2020, he was the Personal Representative of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the G20. 

Host Biography:

• Colin Robertson is a former diplomat, and Vice President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

Read Senator Boehm’s thoughts on the role of the sherpa

What the Senators and Ambassador Fried are reading:

• 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, Elliot Ackerman and Adm. James Stavridis
• The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes, Zachary D. Carter
• Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ichiguro