Global Affairs Canada to Advisors: Help Clients ‘Read, Register and Reach’

Global Affairs Canada is encouraging Canadian travel advisors to play a greater role in helping their clients prepare for safe international travel — while reminding travellers that consular assistance has its limits.

Speaking at the third annual Travel Market Place Calgary, Elena Ainsley, engagement and outreach officer with Global Affairs Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre, said advisors have an important opportunity to connect their clients with government resources before departure.

The Emergency Watch and Response Centre operates 24 hours a day and can assist Canadians experiencing difficulties abroad.

“I’m here to tell you about how we can partner together to ensure that your clients are travelling safely abroad,” Ainsley told advisors.

At the heart of Global Affairs Canada’s message are what Ainsley called the “three Rs” — read, register and reach: read the Government of Canada’s travel advice and advisories, register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service and reach out for consular assistance when necessary.

While Global Affairs Canada provides current destination information and emergency consular assistance, Ainsley stressed that travellers are ultimately responsible for preparing themselves for international travel.

What Consular Officials Can — and Can’t — Do

Ainsley also addressed misconceptions about the assistance Canadians can expect from their government overseas.

Consular officials can help replace passports, advocate for fair treatment under local laws, provide lists of doctors and hospitals and assist with repatriation of remains.

But there are clear limits.

“Sometimes travellers will assume that having a Canadian passport is like a get-out-of-jail card, and my embassy will swoop in and get me out,” Ainsley said. “No, it doesn’t happen.”

Canadian officials cannot get travellers out of prison, post bail, pay fines or legal fees, investigate crimes or deaths, or secure preferential treatment from foreign authorities.

Global Affairs Canada also generally cannot pay hotel, medical or travel expenses. However, Ainsley said emergency loans may be available in certain circumstances after a Canadian has exhausted other sources of financial assistance.

Critical Terminology: ‘Advice’ Versus an ‘advisory’

One distinction advisors should understand particularly well involves the four risk levels used in Canada’s destination information.

Take normal security precautions and exercise a high degree of caution are the two lower risk levels that are considered travel ‘advice,’ Ainsley explained. Avoid non-essential travel and avoid all travel are considered ‘travel advisories.’

That distinction can become important when clients make travel insurance claims.

“Just because we’ve upped the advice from ‘take normal security precautions’ to ‘exercise a high degree of caution,’ it doesn’t mean that their insurance will cover a cancellation, because it’s not an advisory that we’ve issued,” she said.

Ainsley also highlighted a potentially useful tool for advisors: rather than repeatedly checking the government’s information for destinations they sell, advisors can subscribe to receive email notifications whenever the travel advice for a particular destination is updated.

Why Clients Should Register When They go Abroad

Ainsley strongly encouraged advisors to tell clients about Registration of Canadians Abroad, the government’s free and confidential service for Canadians travelling or living outside the country.

Registration provides Global Affairs Canada with a traveller’s contact information and dates in a destination. During an emergency, registered Canadians can receive direct instructions, such as advice to shelter in place.

The information can also help government officials determine the scale of their response following a major emergency.

“If we know an earthquake hit a particular city, we can automatically know how many Canadians are registered,” Ainsley said. “If we need to plan for evacuations, it helps us with the evacuation numbers.”

Ainsley said Global Affairs Canada is also interested in hearing from advisors about the issues their clients encounter overseas and how government resources could better support travellers.

“You’re dealing with travellers every day,” she said. “It’s a tool we don’t often get to tap into.”

For advisors, the overarching message was straightforward: incorporating government travel information into the pre-departure conversation can help clients become better prepared — and better understand where their own responsibilities end and government assistance begins.

Global Affairs Canada urged TMP Calgary advisors to help clients travel safely by understanding travel advisories, registering before departure and knowing consular assistance limits.