Afghanistan Committee on March 25th, 2010

[Françoise Ducros]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It was a broad-based effort. It was deemed to be at the very beginning, following the Manley panel, a key goal to achieve. It was done through various NGOs and organizations at different levels, both through school training and through vocational training in a broad-based way. I can forward details of the projects we did, but it was multi-pronged and very broad-based, and it occurred throughout the country through various projects.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

So this number is not particularly in terms of the Canadian...? This is an Afghanistan-wide target of 20,000.

[Françoise Ducros]

This is an Afghanistan-wide target that we can attribute to Canadian intervention.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Okay.

So you engaged the NGOs. Were these international NGOs and local NGOs as well?

[Françoise Ducros]

I will have to get back to you with the details of the particular projects to deal with this.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Okay.

So this wasn't in the area that Canada was particularly active in--it was the entire country?

[Françoise Ducros]

Well, Canada is active throughout the country. We have 50% of our programming done through Kandahar and targeted directly at Kandahar, but the other 50% of the programming is national in scope, through the various programs. We cover several provinces beyond Kandahar.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

I suppose I'm glad to see that we achieved a target. I'm wondering, though, whether the target itself, given the population of Afghanistan and the rate of literacy, is rather modest. Could you give us any idea what the...? I know the illiteracy rate in Afghanistan is quite high and the literacy rate quite low.

This is really outside of the mission in the particular segment of Afghanistan where Canada's been operating, is it?

[Françoise Ducros]

Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, about 50% of Canadian programming is directly targeted at Kandahar, but there are other national programs throughout, including some with the ministry of education and with other programs as well.

We conduct MISFA, giving small credit loans throughout the country in various provinces. We operate in 14 provinces, I think. I would have to get back to you with the details with regard to this.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Maybe it ties in to the discussion that the minister and I were having and to the minister's earlier comments about achieving development during wartime. It seems to me that perhaps this goal was achieved because it could be achieved in places where there wasn't a level of instability such as there has been in Kandahar since Canada...well, not since Canada has been there, but Canada is obviously operating in Kandahar.

Is there any indication of what level of literacy training has been successful in the areas in which there has been the kind of instability we've experienced in Kandahar?

[Françoise Ducros]

Mr. Chair, we have those numbers. I don't have them off the top of my head, but we can provide them—

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

If you can provide them to the committee, that would be great.

[Françoise Ducros]

—in writing.

The literacy rate in Kandahar—I'm speaking from memory—is about 8%, I understand, among men. It's even lower among women. I'd have to check those numbers and get back to you.

We operate literacy training throughout, including in Kandahar. I don't mean to suggest that we only have literacy training where there is no instability, but we do it throughout the country as well. We can provide details in writing, but we operate through trusted partners in country, so we actually can operate in areas of instability.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you. I'd very interested in seeing this, particularly the kind of breakdown we're looking at, so that we can see whether my theory holds up at all or whether you have found ways of being successful in literacy training despite the lack of stability and the lack of the sense of security that the population has. It would be very interesting to know that you could do that despite the conditions.

[Françoise Ducros]

We have set up a process also of working with community schools in areas, including unstable areas. Literacy training would be a component of that as well. I can certainly get you those numbers, if you request them.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

In fact, it may be more important than in areas where you can't maintain schools. We've had circumstances in which schools have been knocked down because they're a target for Taliban who don't want to see this kind of progress happen. Literacy training, which can happen underground, I should think, might be one thing that can be done despite instability, so I'd be interested in learning more about it.

Could you tell me how much time is left, Mr. Sorenson?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

You have about 20 seconds.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

I will offer the 20 seconds to my colleague.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Hawn.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

If I had known it was going to be you, I might have....

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

We just used the 20 seconds, so it's okay.

Thank you again to the panel for staying.

The minister mentioned counter-narcotic efforts, but he didn't expand on it; he wasn't specific. Could we expand on that? Could you give us some specifics about what role Canada is playing in counter-narcotics?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Ms. Stirk, I see you feverishly flipping pages.

[Jillian Stirk]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd be happy to talk a little bit about counter-narcotics.

This is an effort that we deal with in a number of different ways. The minister in fact announced a major contribution during the course of the London conference—I think it was $25 million—to the UN counter-narcotics efforts. This is ongoing work that we have been doing, and I think it perhaps is one of the most important elements for this period.

But there is also an important counter-narcotics effort to the Dubai process. This process aims to bring together Afghan and Pakistani officials working on border security. There is of course an important anti-narcotic effort to that. We help train border officials to better manage the border, to put in place technology that will help promote licit trade and prevent illicit trade, and to help them recognize how to deal with some of these challenges in a way that is within full respect for the law.

It's not an area that is directly within my purview, but these are some of the highlights from the last period.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Thank you for that, including you, Mr. Chair.

As a slight follow-up on that, Admiral Davidson, maybe you'd be the best one to confirm that Canadian Forces are not part of the poppy eradication program.