The last Q&A before the Ottawa conference (December 2-4) will focus on how the Ottawa conference came about and what is to be expected from the conference and the treaty. The respondent will be the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada. Canada will be hosting the conference at which the Total Ban treaty is to be signed in December. Canada is among the countries that spearheaded the effort to ban landmines, which is why the process that led to the treaty is called the Ottawa Process. Lloyd Axworthy was born on 21 December 1939. He graduated in 1961 with a B.A. from United College (now the University of Winnipeg) and subsequently obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. He was a Professor of Political Science at the University of Winnipeg and also served at the University as Director of the Institute of Urban Studies. Mr. Axworthy was first elected to Parliament in May 1979 and since then has held several Cabinet posts, including Minister of Employment and Immigration and Minister of Human Resources Development. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on January 25, 1996. Click here to read Mr. Axworthy’s Questions and Answers

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