ANATOMY OF A U.S. WARNING — Canada made international headlines on Aug. 29 after publishing a travel advisory for Canadians heading to the United States.
“Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws,” read the update from Global Affairs Canada. Documents newly obtained by Playbook reveal that the advisory that went viral was 71 days in the making. Correspondence shared with POLITICO through an access-to-information request reveals the change started with concern from Health Canada about health care access in an era of backsliding U.S. abortion rights. Emails show that Canada was aware it was “an outlier among our most-like-minded in not having some languages on 2SLGBTQI+ issues in our U.S. travel advice.” — Paper trail: On June 19, a manager under Health Canada’s strategic policy branch on sexual and reproductive health emailed two senior Global Affairs Canada department officials with concerns from “a variety of sources.” “For instance, pregnant Canadians travelling in certain U.S. states might not receive the kinds of care they'd expect if they run into complications in their pregnancy,” read the email. “And, we're hearing concerns about trans Canadians (and in some cases caregivers travelling with trans youth) who might need to travel to certain states.” In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal on Roe v. Wade, 14 states have declared abortion illegal. In Republican states, a wave of bans have made it harder for transgender youth to receive gender-affirming care. More than a week passed before a GAC deputy director responded with a perfunctory message that added three more people to the email chain. A few days later, CINDY MORIARTY, Health Canada director general of health programs and strategic initiatives, stepped in. She asked about GAC’s process for posting travel advisories. “I'm sure you are as busy as we are — we have limited capacity,” Moriarty wrote June 30. “Depending on what is required we might defer this request until later, but if it's something ‘do-able’ we'd be very interested in pursuing it with you.” — Broken telephone: The deputy director of GAC’s travel information program initially thought the Health Canada concern was about abortion. “We haven't been commenting on access to abortion in any country, on the basis that if a Canadian was refused an abortion abroad, they have the ability to come back to Canada to obtain the medical procedure,” the deputy director wrote in a June 30 email. “On the case of the U.S., we wouldn't single them out as access is the worst in a large proportion of foreign countries, so singling [them] out wouldn't be fair or credible.” Moriarty clarified that the issue was not exclusively about abortion access, saying “2SLGBTQ, especially transgender people” are also at risk. “Our concern is for women with wanted pregnancies who want to carry to term, but may — God forbid — run into trouble,” Moriarty wrote. “A car accident etc. They will be refused care. Some women in some states are dying as a result.” — One door closes: The GAC deputy director ruled the issue outside the program’s mandate. “I wish I could point you in another direction, but can't think of one. I'm sorry.” — Idea takes off in separate thread: Copies of internal emails show that on June 26 draft wording for an updated U.S. travel advisory was being workshopped by consular policy department officials in GAC and Canada’s embassy in Washington. Emails bounced between Ottawa and Washington over the next two weeks as they refined the language. Bureaucrats copied and pasted U.K. and Australian guidance into the email chain. — Copy, paste, delete: A senior GAC official advised a desk officer to lift words from Australia’s travel advisory, which states: “There's no federal law that explicitly protects LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination.” Australia’s tone “seems most appropriate,” wrote JULIE SUNDAY, Canada's top official for consular services, in a July 13 email. — Oops: Eight business days later, a diplomat from the Washington embassy flagged the language as potentially “misleading” because it overlooked case law related to hate crimes. The Australia-inspired tone was nixed. — Last stretch: The text of the advisory was finalized Aug. 18, though there were a few hurdles to go. The language earned approval from Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY’s office, which asked if bureaucrats had given a heads-up to the U.S. due to anticipated media buzz. The answer was no. Joly’s office requested a hold on the update until their American counterparts could be briefed. A Canadian diplomat in Washington confirmed a week later that he’d reached a State Department official on Aug. 22. “The conversation was very matter-of-fact with the interlocutor,” read an Aug. 23 email from a GAC desk officer. Lines are redacted from the brief message, notably right after the words, “No immediate issues were raised on the call, though mission noted that …” Joly’s office gave the green light for the update on Aug. 28, a day before the travel warning went live and made news around the world. | 
