Global Affairs Canada, Access to Information and Privacy
Request: what Canada asked of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Commonwealth Secretariat after the “51st state” statements, and what was answered.
The letter ·
Request under the Access to Information Act — what Canada asked of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Commonwealth Secretariat after the calls of the United States for Canada to become its 51st state — with a request for a fee waiver under subsection 11(2)
Hello,
I make this request under section 6 of the Access to Information Act. I am a person present in Canada. Subsection 4(1) of the Act, as extended by the Access to Information Act Extension Order, No. 1, entitles me to make it.
CONTEXT.
On 15 May 2025 The Round Table, the Commonwealth journal of international affairs, recorded that the Commonwealth Secretary-General had issued no statement of solidarity with Canada. The joint statement of Australia and Canada of 5 March 2026 names neither the United States nor the sovereignty of Canada. Global Affairs Canada conducts the relations of Canada with those governments and with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
RECORDS REQUESTED.
Period: 7 January 2025 to the date this request is received.
1. Records of any request by the Government of Canada to the Government of the United Kingdom, of Australia or of New Zealand, or to the Commonwealth Secretariat, for a public statement in support of the sovereignty or the territorial integrity of Canada, and records of every reply.
2. Records of communications with those governments or with the Commonwealth Secretariat concerning statements by officials of the United States that Canada should become a state of the United States.
3. Records that assess the absence of a statement of solidarity with Canada by the Commonwealth Secretary-General or by the government of any other realm of the King.
4. Briefing notes and memoranda to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the position of the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand with respect to the statements in item 2.
5. Where no record exists for an item, a statement to that effect for that item, naming the officer who conducted the search. The duty to assist in subsection 4(2.1) of the Act requires it.
WITHHELD RECORDS.
For every record withheld in whole, state its date, its author, its recipient and the provision relied on. Paragraph 10(1)(b) and section 25 of the Act apply.
FEE.
Waive the application fee under subsection 11(2). The records concern what the Government of Canada asked of the other realms of the King and of the Commonwealth while the United States called for Canada to become one of its states. Every record released will be published in full at https://dzyuban.com/reformation/. If the fee is not waived, give the decision under subsection 11(2) in writing, with reasons and the name and title of the officer who made it.
DELIVERY.
By email, to this address. Confirm receipt with the file number and the date of receipt under section 7.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Due 29 Oct