Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Biggs, I would have liked to have the time to put my question to the minister, but I think you can enlighten me.
There was an article in Embassy magazine about the cuts in funding that you recommended to the minister, cuts that the minister decided not to proceed with, as it happens. I'll quote the article verbatim, to ensure that my comments are translated correctly in our proceedings. The article says this:
it appears KAIROS's work on corporate social responsibility as it related to Canadian mining efforts rubbed diplomats in Mexico and Guatemala the wrong way.
This is a reference to Canadian diplomats.
Embassy magazine continued:
In Guatemala, KAIROS had proposed working with a local NGO named CEIBA to “promote human rights to life, health and prosperity by supporting the ecological sustainability [Guatemalans] seek, including reducing the impact of climate change and unsustainable resource extraction”.
The magazine noted that:
When asked for their opinions on the project, however, the response from Canadian diplomats in the field was an unambiguous “no”.
Moreover, the magazine observed that:
Following another redacted section, the memo concludes: “KAIROS and CEIBA are openly unwilling to consider the concept of sustainable mining even on a case-by-case basis, they are not in a position to foster a balanced or an impartial monitoring effort”
That would be a memo written by embassy diplomats.
Embassy magazine then continued:
Similarly, diplomats in the economic, political and trade section at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City criticized KAIROS's plan to work with another local NGO named CIEPAC to help communities in Oaxaca and Chiapas “acquire the capacity to defend their rights, participate in policy development in relation to resource extraction/mining, and to determine development processes in their communities”.
The diplomats noted that Canadian mining companies are “overwhelmingly present in Mexico”, with $4 billion invested over five years in 53 mines, 500 exploration projects, 200 companies and 290,000 local workers.
The diplomats were against the KAIROS proposal. Do Canadian diplomats tend to intervene like this in the case of projects eligible for CIDA funding?