Roxanne dubé canadian ambassador biography

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Lloyd Axworthy is unequivocal: during the decade she worked for him as a legislative assistant, Roxanne Dubé was “the best on the Hill.”

In an interview from New York, the former Liberal MP and cabinet minister said Dubé – who joined his staff after graduating from the University of Ottawa in – had “a sparkling personality and a willingness to do just about any job.

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“It was my wife who said, ‘You’d better hire that young woman – she’s got great abilities,’ ” Axworthy recalled.

Dubé, Canada’s consul general to Miami, was thrust into the spotlight this week after her year-old son, Jean Wabafiyebazu, was shot and killed. Her year-old son is in police custody in Miami and has been charged with felony murder.

Axworthy described Dubé as “an incredible, intelligent, wonderful human being,” adding, “I can’t tell you how broken-hearted so many of us who know her are to learn about this tragedy in her life.

“Her children mean so much to her,” he said. “She spent so much time being a good mother to them. She’s one of those people we have in our public service who are just a combination of real commitment as well as a great spirit of caring.”

One of Dubé’s co-workers in Axworthy’s office was Eric Hoskins, now Ontario’s minister of health. In an email Wednesday, Hoskins’ press secretary said the minister was “shocked and saddened” by the news. “His heart goes out to Roxanne and her family.”

As a legislative assistant, Dubé was “at the centre of all parliamentary activities,” Axworthy said. When he was named minister of human resources after the Liberals won the election, Dubé was heavily involved in bringing in major reforms to employment insurance and pension programs.

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When Axworthy became foreign affairs minister, Dubé worked extensively with francophone constituencies. That became important when the PQ government in Quebec made a strong push to establish an international presence, Axworthy said. “She was very much on that file.”

She also worked on the Land Mine Treaty and was responsible for liaison with the prime minister’s office and other officials. “She was always a good diplomat,” Axworthy said.

Dubé joined Foreign Affairs in , where she served as the department’s director of relations with Parliament and the cabinet, as well as its director of federal-provincial and territorial relations.

She was appointed ambassador to Zimbabwe in , with concurrent accreditations to Angola and Botswana.

After the election in Zimbabwe, former Senator Donald Oliver commended Dubé during a Senate speech for getting permission for Canadian journalists to report on the results from inside the one-party state.

“Her close and visible contact with the journalists during their stay may very well have protected them during a crackdown on foreign journalists,” Oliver said.

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Returning to Ottawa in , Dubé became head of the administrative unit at Foreign Affairs and later was director general of the department’s geographic strategy and services bureau.

She was named consul general in Miami in November and took up her new duties in February. On March 18, she tweeted a message to Florida governor Rick Scott: “So happy to be in the #SunshineState! Looking forward to meeting you in a couple of weeks!”

Despite the heavy blow she has suffered, Axworthy said he expects Dubé to “show some real heart about that whole thing. I think she’ll just need a lot of support from her friends.”

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