Canadians make odd consular requests

OTTAWA, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Canadian diplomats were requested to do some odd things in 2011 by citizens abroad, including staging a helicopter jailbreak in Germany, officials said.

A release from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa summarized some of the unusual requests made of diplomats in more than 150 countries where Canada maintains consulates and embassies.

In Germany, the family of a man jailed for drug trafficking requested a helicopter to land in the prison yard to pluck him to freedom, the release said.

"They were very surprised to learn this wasn't a service provided," the department said.

Early in the year, a Canadian traveler bound for Chicago called ahead to the consulate there, asking they get him tickets to the taping of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the release said.

In Beijing, a Canadian angered by paperwork demanded consular officials pick up his dog using diplomatic immunity as he didn't have the proper veterinary documents.

The consulate in Cairo also had to turn down a Canadian woman's request to remove her no-longer welcome mother-in-law from her house, the department said.

A woman in the United States also had to be set straight when she called asking for a Canadian passport.

"When told she could not get one, because she was not a Canadian citizen, she said she thought an American going to Canada needed a Canadian passport," the release said.