Foreign Affairs Committee on March 16th, 2010

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

I will forward your request to Ms. Oda.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you.

It is difficult to not mention the Rights & Democracy issue, so I will use this opportunity to talk about it.

Parliament was not in session, so we, as members of Parliament, could not discuss this issue. The actions of the current board of directors and its chair have caused a crisis within the organization. The president of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission went so far as to accuse the board of directors of destroying the organization.

I would like to know, Mr. Minister, if you are going to take immediate measures to remedy the abuses by the board of directors and ensure that Rights & Democracy complies with the legislation.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Are you asking me if I am going to enforce the act?

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Are you going to take immediate action? Under the act of Parliament that regulates the Rights & Democracy organization, the members of its board of directors must act honestly and in the greater interest of the organization.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

If you read the act carefully, you will see that this is exactly how it was worded by the legislator at the time. The board of directors must fulfil its mandate. I am trying to find answers to your question to explain that the onus is on the board of directors to fulfil its mandate.

Unfortunately, I only have the English version of the text. Therefore, if you look closely at the wording of the act, you will note, as I was saying, that the board of directors is under an obligation to establish policies and to apply them in accordance with legislation. For instance, the board of directors is responsible for enforcing human rights that govern our society and that are generally recognized internationally.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I would now like to talk about a financial matter.

It is in relation to the first recommendation stemming from the five-year review of Rights & Democracy's action plan for the period from 2003 to 2008. The review conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs recommended that in light of the observations arising from the review, the Government of Canada consolidate the core funding mechanism for Rights & Democracy to facilitate the planning and implementation of its activities on a multiyear basis.

Mr. Minister, do you intend to implement the recommendation and consolidate the core funding mechanism for Rights & Democracy?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

I understand that on October 29, 2009, representatives of the board of directors and of senior management appeared before this committee. I believe that, at that time, the committee was very satisfied with the organization's undertakings.

If, following discussions in this forum, the members of the committee are in favour of tightening the obligations and further clarifying the recommendations, I would be willing to consider it.

In addition, considering the arm's length relationship between the minister and this organization, you would do well to discuss these issues with the representatives of the board of directors.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

But your department provides the funding.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

We are always liable when it comes to money transfers. We are talking about millions of dollars and, each year, the legislator has the obligation—

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I have only two minutes left.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

I will finish answering your question, Ms. Deschamps.

At the time, the legislator had established Rights & Democracy's obligation to submit a report to the Parliament of Canada each year, which is what the organization has been doing.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I yield the floor to Mr. Dorion.

[Jean Dorion, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Minister, most international context analysts are aware of the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the heart of a great many problems. We know that this situation has had a major impact on the Iraq issue. We know that Iran's apparent desire to acquire nuclear weapons is related to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. We know about the impact that this issue has had in Lebanon, and we know what is currently going on in Yemen. Generally speaking, this issue has always been at the heart of the uneasiness between the Arab/Muslim world and the West.

I am going over your report, which is four pages long, double spaced, and there is no world region that you do not talk about. You touch on almost all of the issues, but no mention whatsoever is made of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Does the explanation for this omission lie in the fact that Canada is satisfied with the situation or even that resolving the problem is not a priority for Canada? I repeat that there is not one word regarding this issue in the report that has been distributed to us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Minister, could you make just a quick response? We're almost out of time.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Okay. I'll give a quick response.

Dear colleagues, when I answered this question first put to me by Mr. Rae, I talked about the commitments Canada has made when it comes to this Middle Eastern conflict. I pointed out that I have visited the Middle East, that I have discussed issues with stakeholders at the meeting of foreign ministers. We discussed the subject. At the end of the month, we will have the opportunity to discuss this current issue at the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting. We will discuss stability in the region.

I would like to remind you that Canada's position has always been one favourable to initiating as soon as possible new discussions that would result in enduring peace, that we are entirely in favour of two independent states existing side by side: a Palestinian state and, obviously, an Israeli one. However, an underlining consideration is the need for discussions that would bring about peace. Every time I am given the opportunity to discuss this issue during my visits, I make sure to remind everyone of Canada's position.

Although we did not mention the issue in the statement, dear colleagues, it is nonetheless a component of Canada's foreign affairs policy.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you, Minister.

We're now going to move over to the Conservatives. Mr. Lunney will be sharing his time with Mr. Goldring.

Mr. Lunney, you have 10 minutes.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister Cannon, you've already answered a dozen questions on the situation in Haiti. I think that Canadians are very proud of the government's response on Haiti, and the rapid response. They themselves were very generous in responding. However, tragically, very shortly thereafter there was a major quake in Chile, of magnitude 8.8 I believe. There was significant damage and loss of life.

Can you briefly outline what the Government of Canada has done in response to assist in the Chilean situation?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Briefly, Canada and Chile enjoy a mature, as well as a multi-faceted bilateral relationship. Chile is Canada's most like-minded partner in South America and is one of six priorities in our Americas strategy.

We obviously remain committed to working with Chile in its time of need following the disaster. In the early stages of this, on March 2, in the name of the Government of Canada, my colleague Minister Oda responded to a request for international assistance from the Government of Chile and announced it would provide to this trusted partner up to $2 million for urgent humanitarian assistance. I think this timely response certainly supports Chile's efforts to meet the needs of those affected in the disaster area.

In this case, as in any other case, the Canadian consular officials continue to use, as we have used in the past, many different avenues to be able to, for instance, locate Canadians who may have been affected by the earthquake. Today, I'm happy to report, there are no confirmed reports of Canadian casualties.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Thank you very much, Minister.

You mentioned briefly in your remarks already about the upcoming G8 and G20 meetings. The Government of Canada has taken a position to promote maternal and child health. We have a tragic situation around the world, where over half a million women are dying in childbirth, and many children are not making it to age five.

I would like to ask you if you could update the committee on what the Government of Canada is doing to promote this agenda with the upcoming meetings and tell us whether you are getting any kind of positive response from our colleagues in the G8 and G20 with regard to this issue.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

As you know, the honourable gentleman who is seated beside me is Canada's, or at least the Prime Minister's, sherpa. He would probably be more adequately equipped to answer the question.

But may I advance, very humbly, in his presence, that we are being very well acknowledged by our colleagues. It's under the theme of “Recovery and New Beginnings”. We'll focus on the G8 value-added areas, such as development, with a signature initiative on maternal and child health, and on international peace and security.

On the development side, it's important to note that the statistics are shocking. Each year, nearly nine million children die before they turn five, and half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these deaths can be prevented with improved access to health care, better nutrition, and the scaling up of proven interventions, such as immunization.

This is a key Muskoka priority. It's directly related to the United Nations millennium development goals...which experts have identified as the ones most lagging behind and having the most important ripple effect on other development challenges. As well, addressing these UN development goals has been fully endorsed by our G8 partners, the United Nations, and of course the World Health Organization.

I'd say that through these outreach activities, Canada is also benefiting from strong support from private foundations as well as from domestic and international civil society organizations, including ONE and Make Poverty History. Canada continues to be engaged in proactive outreach with key partners and is exploring ways to mobilize and leverage financial contributions to, indeed, improve maternal and child health. We're actively identifying and planning opportunities for interaction between the G8 sherpas and civil organizations in Canada.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Still on the G8 theme, you mentioned in your remarks earlier that you'll be meeting with your counterparts, the foreign ministers of the G8, very shortly, I believe, in Gatineau, in preparation for the G8 and G20. Can you briefly give us an idea of the priorities of the Government of Canada in addressing the broader issues that will be coming up at these meetings?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Let me state at the very beginning that the security of Canadians, whether it's at home or abroad, is affected by what happens beyond our borders. Our security depends on our ability to address, with partner countries, threats and conflicts, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, organized crime, and illicit trafficking of drugs and people.

The G8 brings together a group of nations that have a proven track record of accomplishment on peace and security issues, and I don't think there's any substitute for that. The G8 members are committed to using their influence and their resources to try to ensure a safer and more secure world for all.

I'll be raising three priorities with my colleagues in Gatineau on March 29 and 30. First of all is nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, as well as the Afghanistan-Pakistan issue and the issue of security vulnerabilities.

On the nuclear proliferation and disarmament issue, my goal is to set the stage for a positive outcome to the upcoming review conference for the non-proliferation review that will take place in May of this year.

I'll also discuss with my partners the way forward to stop Iran's nuclear fuel enrichment activities and to convince Iranian authorities to come back to the table; at least, we will attempt to do that and have discussions around that issue.

I'll be raising the issue of the DPRK, North Korea, which pursues its nuclear program despite being in contravention of its international commitments.

On Afghanistan, colleagues, we will discuss how we can help ensure that President Karzai delivers on the promises he made at the January conference on Afghanistan in London to take responsibility for security, basic services, and governance across the country.

I'd also note that many countries are not able to deal with security challenges faced from conflict, disaster, terrorism, crime, and trafficking of illicit drugs and people. All the G8 partners have different programs to help countries and regional institutions to address these challenges, from peacekeeping and beyond, but what we want to be able to do here is to see how we can be more effective and more efficient in the way we use these programs and tools in countering security vulnerabilities.

Those goals, in a nutshell, are what we want to achieve.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

That's great. I appreciate the proliferation issue and that you're tackling the Iran issue.

I know the time's getting short here, but the last issue is a favourite of mine.

I'm concerned about the Arctic and Canada's leadership in demonstrating our own sovereignty and sorting out the Arctic issues of boundaries, the sea floor, mapping, and so on. How are we progressing on that front?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Let me state at the outset, Dr. Lunney, that my colleague Minister Strahl has put forward our domestic policy, which is based on a number of pillars--from the environment, to making sure that social responsibility occurs, to governance, to sovereignty, to exercising Canadian sovereignty. That element of exercising Canadian sovereignty falls under somewhat my responsibility, along with other colleagues'.

What we have done over the course of the last two years is to be able to not only increase our presence in the Arctic with the government's intentions through its budget, but as well, in international fora, to clearly express what we are doing in terms of mapping the continental shelf, for instance, or conforming to the International Maritime Organization's general principles for safe shipping as well as protecting the environment.

On the mapping issue, Dr. Lunney, we will be in complete compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We do intend to be able to table the information, the scientific data, by the year 2013. We are working in partnership, sometimes with the Danes, where we have done some mapping particularly on the eastern part of the Arctic, and we are also working with the Americans. The Louis St. Laurent, which is one of our icebreakers, as well as the Healy, which is an American vessel, are working together doing that mapping through sonar techniques. So that is well under way.

I'll end up on this. I'll be hosting in two weeks' time a meeting on the Arctic coastal states so that we can look at what are those issues in common between Canada and the United States, Russia, as well as Denmark and Finland, so we can come together with some set policy that makes sense. This does not, and I want to repeat this, does not undermine, in any way, shape, or form, the Arctic Council, which for Canada, as one of the founding members, is the premier forum for discussion on Arctic matters.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you, Mr. Lunney, and thank you, Minister.

I'm now going to move to the final request from this first round.

Mr. Rafferty, you have 10 minutes.