The Secretary General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, accuses the Canadian Ambassador to Paris, Stéphane Dion, of having threatened her regarding the non-renewal of the contract of a Canadian administrator, who was later replaced by Caroline St-Hilaire .
Mme Mushikiwabo said on Monday that these remarks were made about her at the start of the year when she decided that she would not reappoint Geoffroi Montpetit, in office since 2021 only at the Paris headquarters of the International Organization of La Francophonie. (OIF).
“The Canadian ambassador in Paris told me that if I did not renew Mr. Montpetit’s contract, I would have difficulties with Ottawa,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Quebec. Whether it’s a threat or not is up to you. »
Asked about her own perception of the content of Mr. Dion’s remarks, Ms.me Mushikiwabo then clarified that she received them as a threat.
“Of course, of course, of course,” she said. Because there is a contract, we execute it and when it ends we make a decision to renew or not. This is an injunction that I did not appreciate, especially from an ambassador. But we’ll try to iron it all out. »
Mme Mushikiwabo, however, expressed confidence in being able to restore good relations with the Canadian government, which canceled funding after the non-renewal of Mr. Montpetit’s contract and the release of the results of a survey on the difficult work environment. the OIF.
“I decided to start my new mandate with more freshness, with another person, she said. This is the prerogative of the general secretary. But I saw that it created discomfort on the Ottawa side. Canada is a member country, it is a major contributor and we are going to try to improve the relationship. »
Louise Mushikiwabo replaced Michaëlle Jean as head of the OIF in 2018. Her mandate was renewed last fall for four years.
More details will follow.