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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Posted by Admin

The administration team is currently searching for Canadian expatriates who would be interested in contributing to the Expat Blog. The subject matter is wide open, but must remain family friendly.

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

Thank you!

Phone calls to the Motherland just became free for Stateside Canucks!

Skype, a division of eBay in Northern California, announced that its SkypeOut service would be free in the United States and Canada through the end of the year as a promotion intended to lure new users.

Skype calls from computer-to-computer have been free since the service was launched slightly more than two years ago, but SkypeOut calls routed from computers to land-line or mobile telephones came with fees.

"Millions of consumers around the world are flocking to Skype every month, and we believe free SkypeOut calling will rapidly accelerate Skype adoption in the US and Canada," said Henry Gomez, general manager of Skype North America.

"We're very excited to be bringing Skype's convenience and voice quality to so many people for free."

Expats living outside of the United States need not feel left out of the deal. Although international calls from computer to landline (SkypeOut) are not free, they are relatively cheap, while calls made via computer to computer (Skype) are free.

For more information on Skype and SkypeOut, see the Skype website.