Afghanistan Committee on Oct. 27th, 2010

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Dion, you began your sentence with the word "if", and I'm not going to discuss negotiations that the Government of Canada undertook with the United Arab Emirates. I will simply state that this was not in the best interest of Canadians.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Will you confirm that it was also related to the awarding of flight rights?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

I do not confirm nor deny this.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

If this is not linked to military reasons, why do you not want to discuss it?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

As I told you, I have absolutely no intention of discussing negotiations that Canada has undertaken with other countries.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

You talk about negotiations. Does that mean that a few days before the expiry of our agreement on Camp Mirage, it would still be possible for the Government of the United Arab Emirates to change its mind? Are we now facing a fait accompli or are negotiations still underway?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

The general and chief of staff clearly indicated to you that the transfer procedure was well underway and that we will be meeting our objectives in this regard.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

So there are no more negotiations.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

That's right.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

If there are no longer any negotiations that are ongoing, could you talk to us about those aspects that do not pertain to problems regarding military operations in the field?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

No, I will not talk to you about that. I will simply say that we have made decisions in the best interest of Canadians.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

So we will learn nothing from you about issues that have nothing to do with military security. You push secrecy to that extent.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

I am saying that it is not in the best interest of the Government of Canada. That is why we did not agree to continue those discussions.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

You never discussed it with the United Arab Emirates ambassador?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

No.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Is that normal in your opinion?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Dion, he is not the one who was designated as the negotiator by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

You made an extremely bizarre comparison earlier in saying that—

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

We'll wrap it up there. I'm sorry, but your time is up.

Go ahead, Mr. Dechert, please.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

General Natynczyk, as civilians we very seldom have the opportunity to see Canadian Forces in action. This committee, as you know, was there in June. I want to reiterate what a lot of my colleagues have said here. We saw very professional troops making a real difference to the lives of the people of Afghanistan and to the peace and security of the region, and thereby the peace and security of the whole world, including our own borders. From all of us, I hope you will take back to the people under your command how much pride the Canadian people have in what they're doing there in Afghanistan.

[Gen Walter Natynczyk]

Thank you very much.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Minister MacKay, you have said that their efforts on our behalf really do equal and honour the service and sacrifice of all the veterans who have gone before them in the service of our country throughout our history. Having seen the professionalism of our troops, I certainly share that feeling, so I want to reiterate that comment as well.

Minister Cannon, I don't want to leave out the very good people working for the Department of Foreign Affairs, CIDA, and the other government and non-governmental Canadian organizations in Afghanistan. They are also making a very significant contribution to the lives of the people of Afghanistan in very challenging conditions. I was very impressed with every one of them I met there. All the people I met from other countries praised the Canadians. They praised the Canadian Forces and they praised the Canadian government officials for their professionalism and their expertise. That's something all Canadians need to know and be very proud of.

One of the things we heard about, Minister Cannon, was the Canadian-government-led program to encourage participation of women in governance. I understand, and I was encouraged to hear, that there are a very significant number of women in the Afghan parliament. Could you comment a little more on that, and on the political situation in Afghanistan more generally?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you for that question.

Let me premise the answer by saying that yes, Canadian military personnel and Canadian civilians are present in Afghanistan, but there are over 3,000 Canadian civilians, as well as military personnel, all around the world. They are in Haiti, in Afghanistan--obviously--and in Darfur in the Sudan. They are part of UN-led initiatives, and we are extremely pleased with and proud of what our people are doing.

We have seen some improvements in the situation of women in Afghanistan over the course of the last several months. As you know, we're working to strengthen security in all target districts by ensuring full community participation in school security through consultations with community leaders and elders as part of the local council, the shura, which is a system established by the department of education.

We support, of course, a full range of projects to increase women's legal rights and access to education, maternal health, the labour market, and political office. Today Afghan women make up 27% of elected parliamentarians. Approximately six million children are enrolled in schools nationally, and as I mentioned at the very outset, roughly 2.2 million of these are women--young girls. More than 290,000 women have access to small loans and savings services across the country. Canada continues to work with the Government of Afghanistan and with groups to improve the rights and lives of women and girls in Afghanistan.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to share my time with Mr. Kerr.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

There's less than a minute. Go ahead, Mr. Kerr.