Diplomat’s faced crucial challenges at home and abroad

Change is part of life. But while some alterations in work and home life are personal and modest, others have a profound effect on communities, provinces and countries.

For Roger Turenne, working as a Canadian diplomat and advocate brought many challenges and changes, as he recounts in his memoir, Bit Player on Big Stages.

Turenne, 82, is a writer and former diplomat and advocate whose work has helped raise the status of French in Manitoba, protected many wilderness areas and assisted people in various parts of the world. Bit Player on Big Stages, an account of the author’s time as a diplomat and advocate, was published simultaneously in French and English. Turenne is also the author of Mon pays noir sur blanc — Regards sur le Manitoba français. In addition, he has written for La Liberté and the CBC.

Turenne starts the story of his life with a description of his ancestors and their journey to Canada, leading to his own birth in the francophone village of Saint-Pierre-Jolys, Man. School and family were among the influences on the future diplomat as he learned about himself and others in the context of language and culture. His early encounters with the status of French in Manitoba later became very important as he worked to establish his mother tongue as the official second language.

The influence of these early years became clear as time went on. Turenne later became a diplomat, working first in Ottawa and then Paris before moving on to Africa, Sweden and then back to Manitoba. Following his years as a diplomat, Turenne became involved in the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), advocating for protection of important habitats and the animals that live there. Along the way, he continued his work to raise the status of French in his home province.

Each of Turenne’s jobs had its own benefits and challenges. For example, while the years in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) were chaotic, Turenne had a greater sense of accomplishment there than in the relatively orderly atmosphere of Stockholm, Sweden. His last move was to leadership roles in CPAWS, where he helped to gain protected status for important habitats.

Meanwhile, Turenne also grappled with a range of issues, including the reality of Canada’s spying activities and the struggle to understand events in the United States under Donald Trump. As a former diplomat, the author has valuable insights into these and other topics that he discusses.

While describing his career as a diplomat and advocate, Turenne also includes many personal details about his family and friends.

Bit Player on Big Stages is quite easy to read, with examples that help to flesh out the work that the author did. Some of the longer descriptions of government and advocacy procedures might not interest some readers, but the book is otherwise well worth reading for anyone looking for insights into Canada’s role in the world.

Susan Huebert is a Winnipeg writer and pet sitter.