Evidence of meeting #18 for National Defence in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was kandahar.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Norine MacDonald  President and Founder, The Senlis Council
Emmanuel Reinert  Executive Director, The Senlis Council

5:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rick Casson

Okay.

Ms. Black.

5:25 p.m.

NDP

Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to support what my colleague Ms. Bennett said about international aid organizations. They are fundamentally opposed to the militarization of aid. They see it as a very dangerous way of delivering aid and feel that it puts the recipients in a very dangerous situation. If they're seen to be receiving aid from military personnel, it puts them more at risk from the opposition side. That's the reason they're so opposed to it. They also feel it puts them more at risk—the aid organizations themselves are more at risk—if they're seen to be tied in any way to a military force.

I imagine it would be against some kind of international law for soldiers to disguise themselves, which is what it would be. I think that would be a really dangerous kind of thing, just to put that out on the table.

I want you to know that this committee is going to write a report from the information we've heard from witnesses. You spoke earlier about how you felt there should be an emergency task force led by a special envoy. You talked about the dire need for emergency food and aid—right now, not bogged down in too many bureaucratic muddles about it—and the food needing to get there and get there immediately.

I'm wondering whether you could, and this is probably the last opportunity, reiterate, or tell us exactly—help us with how we write this report—what specific recommendations you would make to this committee on this.

5:25 p.m.

President and Founder, The Senlis Council

Norine MacDonald

If I understand the comments from all of you today, it is about an evolution of the three-D approach, and to make it work in the reality of Kandahar. I can see you all struggling with some answers to this today. It's like you have an approach that seems like a sound approach, and then it has to be applied to the reality of Kandahar. That reality of Kandahar, as I said before, not only involves food aid; it needs an alternative for the farmers for their income.

These difficulties that have been encountered with the silos have to be solved, but not solved next year; they have to be solved immediately, because Kandahar and the climate the Canadian military are fighting in is at stake. That seems to be what has to be grappled with next. I'll be interested to see how you manage that.

5:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rick Casson

You have some time left, if you wish.

5:25 p.m.

President and Founder, The Senlis Council

Norine MacDonald

Thank you. It's okay.

5:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rick Casson

Thank you very much.

We have one quick piece of business. We need to have unanimous consent from the committee to deal with a motion that was put on your table today.

On October 25 the researcher sent out a list of potential witnesses to bring in to tell us what they're doing in Afghanistan. In order to give the clerk some time to bring them in, we would like to pass this motion. The list includes everyone from General Leslie to the U.S. ambassador and other ambassadors.

Do I have unanimous consent?

5:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

5:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rick Casson

(Motion agreed to) [See Minutes of Proceedings]

5:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rick Casson

I want to thank you very much. You came and answered some really tough questions. We appreciate it. We've had people here who haven't been on the ground in Afghanistan trying to tell us from a distance what they've learned. You have actually been there and done the deal. I think what you've offered today is going to be very helpful, and I thank you for that.

The meeting is adjourned.