Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 11th, 2007

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

In a circumstance where you recognize the democracy of a country and the rule of law of the country, can you tell us how you would then treat a situation where a Canadian or someone else who might be in a similar circumstance faced the death penalty, how you would then make a request for clemency?

If the country fits the tests you established—this could be Afghanistan as much as any other country, or it could be Saudi Arabia in the Kohail case—but specific to Afghanistan, given the support that we are giving to the legal system, how would you make a request for clemency? On which basis would you judge that? What guidelines would you use, given that you've already established them in the case of the United States?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you for clarifying your question.

The government's position on the question you are asking is very firm in the specific case of the United States, sir. The United States adheres to the rule of law. There was a fair and equitable trial. It is a democratic country.

What is most important to remember is that I cannot take a position in advance on various hypothetical cases. They will be assessed on a case by case basis.

It is my duty, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, to promote the national standards of various countries or the international standards in which respect for the right to life is expressed. Our position is clear: in Canada, there is no death penalty, we do not want to reopen the debate and we promote that position on the international scene.

When it comes to hypothetical cases that might come up in Afghanistan, we will assess each case when it is presented to us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you, Mr. Minister.

Mr. Kramp, and then we'll go to the Bloc.

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I'd like to welcome our ministers today.

I'll first ask a question to Minister Bernier, and then to Minister Oda if I have time.

Minister Bernier, the Trenton air force base is located right beside my riding. It serves as a site of repatriation that most of us are all only too familiar with. As well, it is the air transport hub for Canada.

I routinely and regularly am in contact with large numbers of our men and women who have come back from Afghanistan. I've talked to well over a hundred personally now, and I've been in the habit of asking every one of them the identical question. To every one of them, I say, “Are you making a difference? Do you feel you're helping the people in Afghanistan?” The response I've gotten back has been, without one exception, yes. Sometimes it's qualified as challenging or difficult, but it's always yes. Now, I state, Minister, that this response is from the people who are making, in many cases, the ultimate sacrifice. These are people who are on the ground there, who are dealing with this in a first-hand manner.

We recognize that a number of these people serve in the Kandahar area, in the most dangerous provinces, and our presence there is very important. Do you and our department concur with their decision, particularly in those danger zones, that our involvement there is making a concrete difference?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you for your question.

The answer will be a simple yes. If you compare the situation right now to the one of a couple of years ago, you can see the difference. But yes, we still have some challenges. We still have to continue our training with the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army, and that's a challenge I'm proud our country has decided to take on.

Specifically about Kandahar, yes, the situation in Kandahar, in the south, is a dangerous one, but I'm proud of what we're doing there.

As you know, Kandahar is located in the heart of the old stronghold of the repressive Taliban regime that controlled a large part of Afghanistan there. It is a province that is in need of extensive support, and where there are groups of insurgents, of Taliban, whose activities are somewhat more intense than in other provinces. Why? It's quite simple. The Taliban are well aware of the historical and strategic importance of Kandahar. That is why a large portion of their efforts focus on the south, in Kandahar.

Lastly, our presence indicates a very important position, both for us and for the government of Afghanistan. It is a key factor in the mission of the international reconstruction forces in Afghanistan. As you know, Canada tool over the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar in 2005. The work done by the Provincial Reconstruction Team is enormously appreciated. However, it is still dangerous work.

As I was saying earlier, having been on site and met with the people who work in the Provincial Reconstruction Team, I am in a position to say that we can be very proud of the efforts they are making to improve the lives of the Afghan people. It has a positive effect on the Afghans, who are living in difficult circumstances.

A number of infrastructure and development projects are underway in Kandahar. Ms. Oda may be able to tell you a little more about that.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

I would just like to take a couple of minutes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Very quickly. I promised the Bloc another question.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Certainly. It's just to show the difference that we have been making in the short period of time, since some of these things that I mentioned are very challenging.

In the area of education, I just reported on the improvement in enrolment. Now we're actually working on projects with EQUIP and the Aga Khan Foundation, and we're actually looking at curriculum-based textbooks that will be developed and distributed. We're also looking at increasing teacher education. So you can see that just in the area of education, we've moved the progress forward. We're now establishing the basic fundamentals for starting to build an education system.

So we are making a difference, yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you.

I think we're pretty well out of time, but I do want to give the Bloc one very short one.

I don't know, Mr. Dewar. I don't think we're going to be able to. We have to go to our committee report as well.

Madam St-Hilaire.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be brief because I know that my colleague has another question to ask.

Ms. Oda, since you have been in your office, you must certainly have noticed how great the need is just about everywhere. I have also heard that you could easily be a persuasive woman.

With the budget approaching, how do you intend, in concrete terms, to persuade your Minister of Finance to ensure that Canada achieves its objective, which, I would remind you, is 0.7% of GDP in public development assistance? I would like to know in concrete terms. Don't talk to me about the 8% increase, because you know very well that you have do to a lot more than that to achieve that objective.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Thank you for your question, and let me assure you that there is no need to have persuasive arguments be put forward to any member of our government when it comes to international aid. Our government has already committed to doubling its international assistance program. We've committed to doubling our aid to Africa. By this coming year, we will do that. We have made significant contributions and commitments to the work that we're doing in Afghanistan.

So thank you very much for the opportunity, because if I needed to, I would take this opportunity to put some arguments forward to my associate. But there is no need certainly—I know that and my colleague also knows that—to have to put forward special arguments to any minister of this government to continue its support, effective support, particularly on our efforts in Afghanistan. We're very confident. We know we're increasing our presence there. We know we've increased our commitment there. And we will, by 2011, complete the commitment to spending $1.2 billion.

So thank you again, but let me assure you, this government is committed.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you very much.

We want to thank these ministers for coming today. We appreciate the time. Initially the ministers were booked for one hour, and we appreciate the extra half an hour that you consented to. We look forward to your coming back, and certainly on behalf of our committee, to the ministers, we would wish you all a very Merry Christmas too.

Thank you to the associates who came with them.

We will suspend for about five minutes. It will allow us to go in camera, and then we will consider the draft report.

[Proceedings continue in camera]