Vancouver
The question of whether it's safer to walk down the streets of Haiti or Vancouver's Downtown Eastside was answered last week during a visit by Canada's governor general.
Michaelle Jean - who was warmly welcomed in Haiti during a visit there and had an uneventful tour despite concerns about her safety - received a much rockier reception in Vancouver.
Protesters heckled and swore at her, creating the sort of mayhem for which Downtown Eastside activists are renowned.
The issues they seek to highlight - poverty, inadequate housing and funding for women's centres - have plenty of resonance. But those messages are often lost in the brutality of their delivery.
Ms Jean would appear to be the ideal candidate to persuade Downtown Eastside activists to soften their tactics. She may be the British queen's representative in Canada, with all the pomp that entails, but Ms Jean came from decidedly underprivileged circumstances. The child of refugees who fled Haiti in the 1960s, she grew up understanding poverty and has spent her life championing the underdog.
She became a broadcast journalist and social activist, promoting better conditions for women - especially single mothers and impoverished immigrants.