Canadian Expatriates, its contributors, and readers have been invited by Foreign Affairs Canada to participate in a series of eDiscussions. The current topic is “Showcasing Canadian Culture and Know-How Abroad”.

We are asked to consider the following questions:

What role does Canadian culture and know-how play in our foreign policy?

How might the government best promote Canadian talent and expertise in the world?

The eDiscussion runs from April 4 to May 6, 2005. At its conclusion, a summary of the discussion will be sent to senior policy planners.

The Expat admin team encourages its readers to join in the eDiscussion at the Canadian International Policy website.

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If you are interested in joining our blogging team, please send an email our way!

Thank you!

The Canadian government has ordered the recall of 21,000 toy guns on the basis that the toys pose a threat to the nation.

The rifles, which were manufactured in China, were weighted down with a bag of soil, which also originated in China. The Canadian government is concerned that the soil may contain pests and bacteria which will pose a threat to Canada's crops and forests. For that reason, Canada bars the importation of soil from areas outside of North America.

"We didn't expect plant protection problems from toy guns," said Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesman Alain Charette.

Intitial tests show that the soil had not been properly treated to remove contaminants prior to shipping.