Evidence of meeting #2 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was turkey.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Kerry Diotte Conservative Edmonton Griesbach, AB
Where are you getting your information? Is there a network out there? What's your main source of information on such things?
October 22nd, 2020 / 5:30 p.m.
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
In consular cases, usually families, friends, relatives or contacts report if one of their friends or loved ones are involved in a difficult situation requiring Canadian assistance. To my knowledge, we haven't had any of those reports.
Conservative
Kerry Diotte Conservative Edmonton Griesbach, AB
How well prepared would the local governments, international organizations, NGOs and communities be to deal with an estimated 140,000 people currently displaced by this conflict, especially considering that we're in the middle of a global pandemic?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Sir, you're quite right. The COVID situation has made everything more difficult for operations within Nagorno-Karabakh, but I am pleased to say that Canada has just announced $350,000 for the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist those who have been affected by the hostilities. The impact, of course, is quite severe in terms of the living conditions they face, having to leave their homes and the risks they are under.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Mr. Diotte, thanks very much. That's your time.
Our next questioner is Ms. Sahota, please, for five minutes.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
I want to carry on with the conversation started by Mr. Harris and Mr. Diotte about displaced people. The number you had stated earlier, or Mr. Harris stated it and you agreed, of 700,000 to 800,000 people seems quite large. How many do you think currently have been affected or displaced with the tensions that have risen in the last little while?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Just to clarify, the figures I discussed with your colleague had to do with overall, since the outbreak of the conflict in the early 1990s. It's a total amount. We do not have a good feel for how many have been displaced as a result of the recent outbreak of hostilities. It could be in the tens of thousands. It's not clear.
Again, we're really handicapped by the fact that we don't have the usual kinds of monitors within Nagorno-Karabakh who could assist in giving us a better estimate.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Who were the usual monitors before this? What organizations or international groups were you receiving information from?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Primarily, it is the OSCE, as well as other humanitarian organizations that are present, with whom we keep in close liaison to exchange information of this nature. Of course, we also welcome any independent media coverage that goes on that can undertake reporting on the situation.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Regarding the funding that Canada has provided, the $350,000, you said, for the International Committee of the Red Cross, what type of access does the Red Cross have? What exactly are those funds going to be devoted to?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I think it's the usual type of humanitarian assistance in a crisis such as this. I would presume it would be things such as clothing, food stuffs, shelter, safe passage and those sorts of things, the real, immediate needs that you find in any conflict crisis or humanitarian disaster of this nature.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
In terms of the talks, we've heard that the Prime Minister and our foreign affairs minister have had talks with a few countries. I'd like to hear a bit more about the talks that have happened with our European partners and the EU. What is their feel? What role is the international community wishing to play in this dispute?
The U.S. hasn't really been referred to at all in this conversation. Could you could shed some light as to their thinking on this conflict?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Well, our minister has been in close touch with the key players, the countries that have an influence on the situation. Of course, he has been in touch with his Turkish counterpart.
The Prime Minister has been touch with Mr. Erdogan, the president of Turkey. He has also been in touch with the Armenian Prime Minister and has expressed our concerns and our views about the situation. He has urged upon the chairman, as have all members of the OSCE Minsk Group, the importance of utilizing OSCE and has offered help in their ongoing assistance in mediating the crisis.
As far as the United States is concerned, you will know that they are one of the chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and therefore have been quite active with the other two countries that are part of it. Tomorrow, Secretary Pompeo is hosting a meeting in Washington of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to try to resolve some of the immediate issues, with an eye to a more long-term solution. I'm sure they will discuss fully utilizing the OSCE process as well.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Have there been any discussions between Azerbaijan and Canadian officials?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Yes, we're in touch. We use our embassies to get in touch and find out about the situation, to understand the positions that Azerbaijan has taken and to get a fuller picture—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
My apologies, Mr. Sproule, I have to cut you off here.
Thank you very much, Ms. Sahota.
I now give the floor to Mr. Bergeron for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Montarville, QC
Speaking of contact between Canada and Azerbaijan, if I understand correctly, the two countries are co-hosting a UN General Assembly session on fighting COVID-19. As I said earlier, a good number of countries, 170 in total, responded to the UN secretary-general's call for a comprehensive global ceasefire. It dates back to this past June, so before hostilities resumed. Yet, curiously, Azerbaijan is not on the list of countries that supported Malaysia's initiative in response to the UN secretary-general's appeal.
Given the current conflict, is it not now a bit awkward for Canada to join with one of the parties to the conflict to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic when Azerbaijan has been unwilling to join in a global ceasefire as part of the fight against COVID-19?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I would not agree with your characterization, which implies that Canada is siding with Azerbaijan in the current conflict. Canada's interaction with Azerbaijan is in an effort to encourage it to cease hostilities, to seek a peaceful and negotiated settlement and to try to resolve the issue peacefully. Conflict will not resolve the situation.
Much of our interaction, of course, is in an effort to understand the situation from the Azerbaijani side. Of course, we are actively engaged with officials from Armenia and at the political level to understand the situation from their point of view and to get a better grasp of what's happening on the ground, and of course encourage them in the direction we encourage both parties to go, which is to find a negotiated settlement for this ongoing problem.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Bergeron.
This is perfectly timed.
We have one more speaker.
Mr. Harris, the floor is yours, for two and a half minutes, please.
NDP
Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL
Thank you, Chair.
Let me go back to some comments you made, Mr. Sproule, about the lack of knowledge on the ground and on working with Armenia and Azerbaijan. You mentioned the use of embassies.
Do we have either an embassy—I don't think we have an embassy—or a diplomatic mission to either Azerbaijan or Armenia? If so, where are they located? Does this have any effect on our ability to know what's going on or even provide some assistance in trying to reduce the conflict?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
No, we do not have resident missions in either of those countries. We look after our Azerbaijan interests from our mission in Ankara, and insofar as Armenia is concerned, our mission in Moscow—
NDP
Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL
How does that affect our ability to know what's going on or to be able to influence or assist in helping find a solution?
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
It's always easier to undertake this kind of work if we have a resident mission.
Senior Arctic Official and Director General, Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
But what we do is to ensure that the contacts and communications with the host government are frequent. We have visits. Our contacts and our networks continue. These are all information gathering methods that we've been able to undertake, and of course we undertake some of that work here from headquarters with the representatives accredited to Canada.