After having served in 5eRALC (CFB Valcartier), attended the Long Gunnery Staff Course (Guided Weapons) at the Royal School of Artillery in Larkhill, UK, instructed at the Combat Arms School (CFB Gagetown) and served as a staff officer in HQ Canadian Forces Europe in Lahr, West Germany from 1971 to 1979, Grinius joined the Canadian foreign service in 1979.
[1] Grinius transferred to the Privy Council Office (PCO) in 1999, where he served in the Social Development Policy Secretariat.
[3] He returned to Ottawa in 2011 where he was seconded to the Department of National Defence as Director-General, International Security Policy for a year.
[4] He has experience in arms control,[5] and has visited Pyongyang to stress Canada's calls for North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons program.
[6] He has called for Canada to engage more with North Korea, encouraging more diplomatic visits to Pyongyang to learn more about what is happening and to "build credibility" with China.