The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 2007.Susana Raab/The Globe and Mail
Canada's embassy in Washington was evacuated Friday morning after a suspicious package was found in the mail room, embassy officials said.
After the area was sealed off, a Secret Service bomb squad determined the package was "not dangerous and removed it from the premises," said spokesman Chris Plunkett. All embassy personnel, about 300, returned to work shortly before 11 am..
Pennsylvania Avenue, the broad route linking the Capitol to the White House, was closed and downtown traffic snarled as a clutch of fire trucks and police cordoned off the area.
The Secret Service – responsible for the safety of foreign diplomats as well as the president and cabinet – ordered the massive white landmark embassy evacuated shortly after 9:30 am.