The Canadian Embassy in Washington says it mistakingly displayed large friendship banners proclaiming sovereignty over Greenland, which reportedly went unnoticed for more than a week.
Greenland was included as part of the map of Canada in large U.S. friendship banners with the slogan: “Not just neighbours: Friends, partners, allies,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Greenland has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark for 200 years and has never been a part of Canada.
The banners were on display at the embassy for several days before the Department of Foreign Affairs noticed the gaffe, a spokesperson told Blacklock’s this week.
“The banner was up for eight days,” department spokesperson Pierre Cuguen said. “The banner was removed, corrected and re-hung.”
The department declined to say what it paid for the banners or how many managers approved the purchase without noticing the mistake on the map.
The Canadian Embassy declined to name the contractor who supplied the Greenland banners, although the report noted staff in the past have relied on U.S. vendors for promotional goods.
Canada’s ambassador to Washington Kirsten Hillman has not commented publicly on the error.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly also has not commented on the mistake. In the past she has emphasized that Canada does not claim sovereignty over Greenland.
“We want to make sure we abide by the international rules-based order,” Ms. Joly said during testimony before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee last May. “That’s exactly what we did with Denmark and Greenland.”
The minister said Canada could be “proud” of having “very good ambassadors from our diplomatic network,” during testimony at a hearing last February following the appointment of former Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett as ambassador.
“We also have a new ambassador to Denmark, a country with close ties to Greenland,” Ms. Joly said. “We know that the relationship with the Inuit is a very important issue in Greenland, and Ms. Bennett has a lot of experience in dealing with indigenous communities, including the Inuit community. That’s why I think this is a very good appointment.”
Greenland is the largest island in the world and is home to 56,000 people who live in the 20 percent of the country not covered by ice and snow, according to Denmark’s official website.
It has its own local government despite being part of the Realm of Denmark and has its own official language: Greenlandic. The climate is cool with July being the only month the temperature climbs above the freezing mark.
