Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 14th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Yes, that's correct.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

That debate will continue as long as a member has something they want to say about it, unless something else happens.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Absolutely.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

I'm sorry; that was my point. I think that we are into this. If the committee wanted to vote on it quickly to get us to business, I would love that. I think the business is really important, because we have a break week coming up. If we could give the analysts instructions today, I think it would be helpful in getting this report done.

There are a few other things in the business meeting we need to get done. Right now, I will simply say I'm supportive of this motion. I don't need to say more than that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you.

Mr. Chong, did you want to speak to this as well?

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

I don't think that this motion was introduced in a constructive manner. I think it was dropped at the last minute.

It is part of a pattern of division on part of this—

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Go ahead, Madam Fry.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

You ruled that this motion is in order.

I think Mr. Chong is debating the problem of whether it's in order or not, and he should be debating the substance of the motion.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

I am not, Mr. Chair. I am debating the substance of the motion.

I think the substance of this motion is very divisive, and I think it's part of a broader pattern on the part of this government to defend itself by introducing divisive measures in the House and in committees in order to distract from its failings.

I don't think that this motion is a constructive motion in the context of the diplomatic capacity study. I would note that a different form of the motion was introduced previously at this committee, and the committee descended into chaos.

We are, once again, taking the committee off track, because this motion clearly doesn't have a consensus around this table. I would note that it is unfortunate, because I think that in regard to Canada's foreign aid, it is possible to develop a consensus across party lines and among Canadians more broadly.

The approach I would highlight, which I think the committee should have taken when it comes to these sorts of issues, is the approach that the previous government took with its G8 Muskoka initiative on maternal and children's health, an initiative that was widely seen as being successful, precisely because both NGOs and the government set aside their partisan considerations and worked across divides to find a consensus on issues of commonality.

I was just recently reviewing an article that was written by Elly Vandenberg in Policy Options in 2017. Elly Vandenberg is a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. She has 25 years of experience at World Vision Canada and she wrote something that I think is particularly apt in this context of the motion in front of us today. She highlighted 10 practical lessons learned from the success of the Muskoka initiative. One of the 10 lessons learned was to collaborate across different divides and to focus on areas of common support.

That's not what this motion does; it does quite the opposite. It's a divisive motion that we have dealt with in another form at this committee, and I think that it doesn't build on the lessons learned from the successful Muskoka initiative, which was something that really galvanized not just NGOs across Canada and not just the international development community here in Canada but also the community outside of Canada. It played a big role in helping us move towards the millennium development goals that we had been struggling to meet, as we were at the two-thirds point around 2010.

We know that in the aftermath of the pandemic, the world's poorest have suffered disproportionately. The World Bank, I believe, last year highlighted that tens of millions of people slid back below the extreme poverty line as a result of the pandemic, so there is a need for a doubling down on the effort to meet the sustainable development goals and the previous millennium development goals that were set.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Go ahead, Madam McPherson.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I'm sorry to interrupt my colleague.

I would just like to ask that we adjourn, knowing that it is Valentine's Day and that we all have loved ones I'm sure we'd like to spend time with. I'd like to put forward a motion to adjourn.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I think that's out of order at this point, when Mr. Chong is....

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'm finished speaking.

Thank you.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I'm sorry. What did I have...?

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'm done my intervention. You may recognize the next person.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Go ahead, MP McPherson.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I would like to call to adjourn the meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

I still have a point.

[A voice]

No, it's over. It's adjourned.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Not on that, but on....

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Well, it's done.

[A voice]

The majority of the committee wants to adjourn.