Foreign Affairs Committee on April 29th, 2021

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Dear colleagues, welcome to the 31st meeting of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), the committee will proceed to an examination of the main estimates. Before us today we have votes 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, L25 and L30 under the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; vote 1 under the International Development Research Centre; and vote 1 under the International Joint Commission (Canadian Section), which were all referred to the committee on February 25.

I would also inform members at this time that we will not vote on the main estimates today, but rather will do so after the appearance of both ministers.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I encourage all participants to mute their microphones when they're not speaking, and to address comments through the chair.

When you have 30 seconds remaining in your questioning time or testimony, I will signal you with a piece of paper.

Additionally, as always, interpretation services are available through the globe icon at the bottom of your screens.

I will now welcome to the committee Minister Gould, the Minister of International Development, as well as the following team of officials from Global Affairs Canada: Leslie MacLean, deputy minister of international development; Elissa Golberg, assistant deputy minister of strategic policy; and Paul Thoppil, assistant deputy minister, Asia-Pacific.

Also from Global Affairs Canada, we have Caroline Leclerc, Assistant Deputy Minister, Partnerships for Development Innovation; Peter MacDougall, Assistant Deputy Minister, Global Issues and Development; Anick Ouellette, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Planning, Finance and Information Technology; and Annie Boyer, Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Planning and Management.

Madam Minister, welcome.

You have five to seven minutes for your opening remarks.

You have the floor.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of International Development]

That's great. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I am very pleased to be here today to speak to you about the main estimates as they relate to Global Affairs Canada's international development portfolio. I'm very pleased to be joined by so many members of our senior leadership team at GAC.

It has now been over one year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and it has not been an easy journey for our Canadian or developing country partners. We recognize that the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic have resulted in increased levels of poverty and social inequality. In fact, the World Bank has estimated that between 119 million and 124 million people might be pushed into extreme poverty due to COVID-19, reversing development gains earned over the last two decades.

Since February 2020, Canada has committed more than $2.5 billion in international assistance in response specifically to COVID-19. These funds have been directed, for example, towards life-saving assistance to deliver emergency health care; increased disease surveillance and infection prevention; provision of water, sanitation and hygiene; and to support continuity of education for children through programs run by our CSO partners in countries like Afghanistan and Colombia. Over half of these funds, more than $1.3 billion, have facilitated equitable access to COVID-19 medical support measures.

Throughout this global crisis, Canada's feminist international assistance policy has proven to be a robust and strategic framework, focused as it is on those actions that support the poorest and most vulnerable populations. In the midst of the pandemic we have continued to implement our core commitments and to achieve results and impact. For example, in the 2019-20 fiscal year, 65 million children were immunized through Canada's support for Gavi, the vaccine alliance; 3.2 million women were provided sexual and reproductive health and rights services through the Her Voice, Her Choice initiative; more than 300 women's rights organizations were supported through the women's voice and leadership initiative; over five million entrepreneurs, farmers and smallholders received financial or business development services; 11,005 peacekeepers were trained to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse; and we continued to make progress toward our overall commitment to direct 95% of bilateral international development assistance to initiatives that target or integrate gender equality by 2021-22. These initiatives and others were strategic and targeted to what was needed most by the communities we support. They made a considerable difference in the context of the pandemic, reinforcing resilience and our wider sustainable development efforts.

Before I conclude, I would like to turn to the main estimates.

To assist with the pandemic response, the Public Health Agency of Canada transferred $705 million in 2020-21 in new funding for international partnerships to Global Affairs Canada to support access by developing countries to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. This includes the procurement and effective delivery and administration of vaccines and therapeutics.

The Public Health Agency of Canada will be transferring $75 million later this year in additional support for this pillar, to be disbursed in 2021-22.

Additional funding provided to Global Affairs Canada in 2020-21 to support our international assistance response to COVID-19 included $120 million to support the access to COVID-19 tools accelerator, ACT-A; and $400 million to support the humanitarian and development response to COVID-19.

More recently, in Budget 2021, the government committed an additional $375 million to support Canada's international response to COVID-19 in 2021-2022. These resources will also be allocated to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator partnership. These investments have been critical to our international assistance efforts to respond to the acute health impacts of the pandemic, and will contribute to supporting a sustainable and equitable recovery for all.

This has been an unprecedented year. Our government is committed to implementing the Feminist International Assistance Policy, and we are working hard to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through these efforts, we are achieving results and generating positive impacts, helping to build a more peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous world for all.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to answering your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Madam Minister.

We are now moving into our first round of questions. These are six-minute periods. The first one is for Mr. Genuis.

Mr. Genuis, please go ahead. You have the floor.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister.

In its last report, this committee denounced the direction and control regime and called on the government to immediately reform it. We unanimously recognized that direction and control requirements impede important international development work and perpetuate colonial structures of donor control.

Senator Omidvar's Bill S-222 proposes to replace direction and control with a system that emphases resource accountability. As we all know, however, private member's bills generally generally face a long and uncertain journey, even when they have wide support.

I'd like to ask, then, whether the minister agrees with this committee that direction and control is an impediment to effective international development work and should be reformed. What is the government's view of Bill S-222? And is the government contemplating their own legislation on this?

Minister, in the interests of managing my time, I'll give you two minutes to respond on direction and control before I go on to other topics.

Go ahead.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Okay, thank you, Mr. Genuis.

We have been engaging with civil society organizations on direction and control over the past year as well.

I would like you to know that any reforms to the Income Tax Act fall under the Minister of Finance. That being said, my department has been engaging with civil society partners here in Canada to better understand their concerns and has been liaising with the Department of Finance on this issue.

Amendments to this act, however, really are in the purview of the Minister of Finance. We completely understand where CSOs are coming from, though, and look forward to continuing to engage with them in a constructive manner.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Minister.

I have two follow-up questions, then.

Does the government as a whole recognize that the direction and control system requires reform? Secondly, does the government support Senator Omidvar's bill?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Again, thank you.

These are conversations that are ongoing between civil society partners, our department and the Department of Finance, as the Department of Finance is the lead on the Income Tax Act, as I mentioned.

I've certainly heard from Senator Omidvar on this and have had a conversation with her, and I shared her feelings with the Minister of Finance.

I would turn this question over to Caroline Leclerc, who has been engaging in these conversations with civil society partners, if you'd like to hear from her.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Minister, I would prefer to use the time to hear from you, but if the department wants to follow up in writing, I would welcome that as well.

This has been an issue for a long time. I'm glad it's on the table, and I hope it will move from conversation to action on the part of government. I'd like to now transition, however, to another topic.

When it comes to delivering development spending, the budget refers to trusted humanitarian partners. It does not, though, make specific reference to the inclusion of Canadian organizations and in particular to small and medium-sized organizations. I routinely hear frustrations from the Canadian development sector that the government is sending an increasing share of development dollars to large foreign multilateral organizations, some of which then actually subcontract to Canadian organizations, but only after they've taken a portion off the top.

Are you hearing these concerns from the development sector as well, and what is your plan to address those concerns?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Genuis.

Yes, our government has been hearing these concerns since we took office back in 2015. I would just note that since we came into office, we've actually increased the amount we provide to Canadian civil society organizations by more than $300 million annually. In 2014-15, the previous government provided $652 million to Canadian partners. By 2019-20, it was already at $950 million.

We are, then, listening to Canadian civil society partners. We've increased the share that goes to Canadian CSOs from what under the previous government was less than 19% to about 25% now. This is a commitment I continue to work with the department on, to make sure that we are supporting Canadian civil society organizations that provide valuable work right around the world.

In addition, we have been working with small and medium-sized organizations on a $100-million window to enable them to access funds through the department. We've already put out two calls. If you look at our website, we are putting out an additional call, which will be launched very shortly, for the next window for small and medium-sized organizations.

We have heard Canadian CSOs, have listened and have significantly increased the amount of money we provide to Canadian CSOs, particularly when you compare us with the previous Conservative government.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Minister. I want to get one more question in before the end, although I do want to note—and this was a frustration last time—that we heard a lot of reference to dollars in nominal terms rather than in real terms or as a percentage of gross national income. Our overall aid levels are down as a percentage of gross national income, even though the government constantly wants to point to the fact that they're up in nominal terms, but the nominal dollars are not the essential issue.

Minister, just coming back on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, something that we've discussed before, I know that last time you were reluctant to answer questions about it because, you said, the governor of that bank is the Minister of Finance. I found it curious and still do that you are the governor on all development banks except the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. This might seem to me to imply a recognition that what the AIIB is doing is not development.

Could you explain why you are not the governor of the AIIB, but you are the governor in the case of every other development bank?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

I might just go back to your opening there, because your factually incorrect. The ODA as a percentage of GNI is at 0.31 after the last year, which is the highest it's been since 2012, and on a volume basis, we have been increasing it since we came into government in 2015. In fact, the previous Conservative government froze the aid budget in 2010 and began cutting it on an annual basis starting in 2012.

When it comes to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as I mentioned, it is the Minister of Finance. As I said the last time, these are machinery-of-government decisions, so I couldn't tell you why it's the Minister of Finance and not the Minister of International Development. I would encourage you to direct your questions with regard to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to the Minister of Finance.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

But it is—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Mr. Genuis. That's your time, sir. We'll have to go on in the interest of time.

The next round goes to Mr. Fonseca, please.

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Thank you for your remarks and for being a champion and an advocate for women and girls so that they have control over their bodies, their health and their future and for challenging power imbalances.

Minister, the feminist international assistance policy set important goals for our international assistance. Ninety-five percent of Canada's initiatives are supposed to target or integrate gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls by 2021-22.

From your opening remarks, could you expand on how we're progressing on that? Are we on track to meet that goal?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

For the past two years—and it was just confirmed this week by the OECD DAC once again—Canada is the top donor when it comes to gender equality in the world. This is very exciting, I think, and it is a really positive reflection of what we've been able to achieve with the feminist international assistance policy since its launch in 2017, which was highly informed by the Canadian development sector as well as partners right around the world.

We are indeed on track to meeting our target of having 95% of our official development assistance focused on having a gender equality component to it by this year. We will continue to have gender equality form the core, the basis and the heart of the work that we are doing, because we know that gender equality improves the lives of everyone. It's something that we are very proud of.

We are also on track with the Her Voice, Her Choice initiative, which committed $650 million back in 2016 to sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world. We know, again, that if we're going to do development effectively, we have to include the full suite of women's rights. That includes a woman's right to bodily autonomy and to the choice over her future, if and when she marries, and if and how many children she decides to have. That is extremely important to us, and it's something that we will continue to work on to support women around the world and continue to advocate for.

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Minister, that's excellent. Thank you for that progress report.

We've heard from witnesses over the past few months at our committees the claim that COVID-19 will set international development progress back by decades. We know that the remaining needs are great and that challenges like climate change, women's rights and economic empowerment of the most vulnerable have not gone away.

Can you please share how your work has adapted to continue to address these challenges during this difficult time of the pandemic?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Peter.

As I said in my opening remarks, the number of people who are estimated to go into extreme poverty is astronomical. The number who are expected to go into acute food insecurity is doubling. We're seeing this play out on the ground right now.

While I mentioned the $2.5 billion in additional resources that we've mobilized for COVID-19, part of that is to address the medical challenge, but part of that is also to address the humanitarian and development needs that we're seeing on the ground this year. This is in addition to our base ODA funding and programming that is already working to address poverty and inequalities around the world. We remain committed to our primary objectives and the feminist international assistance policy.

One of the things that was the most important for me when we look back a year ago was that any of our responses to COVID-19 be in addition to what we were already doing. None of the challenges that you mentioned go away because of COVID-19. In fact, they are exacerbated.

I am very proud that Canada has mobilized additional resources to address COVID-19, as well as their secondary and tertiary impacts. This is something that we have been encouraging other countries to do as well. Whether it's keeping girls in school to help them pursue their education and a bright future, or providing critical nutrition interventions, routine immunizations for children, access to sexual and reproductive health services, or agricultural inputs for low-income farmers in different parts of the world, these issues have not gone away. They've been exacerbated. Canada has remained committed and steadfast to our development and humanitarian programming while we have also responded to COVID-19.

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Minister, again, thank you.

I know you focused on the numbers and what we're doing in terms of foreign aid. Can you tell us a little bit more about where the focus has been? How do we compare and where do we see others around the world in terms of their aid?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

A lot of different countries have different focuses. Certainly for Canada our feminist international assistance policy puts gender equality at the heart of what we do.

About half of our development funding goes towards health interventions. We made the Thrive commitment at the Women Deliver event in June of 2019 that commits us to reach $1.4 billion in annual funding for global health. Half of that will go to SRHR and the neglected areas of SRHR. This was an important commitment towards SDG 4 to really ensure that we are setting ourselves a stable path towards 2030.

We remain very committed to fighting climate change, as well as humanitarian assistance. We provide about $800 million a year in humanitarian assistance.

Those are just some of the areas where we focus. Canada has a long history in international development and a lot of competencies in a lot of different areas.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Madam Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Fonseca.

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe, welcome to the committee. I will now turn the floor over to you for six minutes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is a pleasure to be with you today.

I thank the minister for appearing today. I think it is important. Taxpayers expect us to contribute internationally. That requires, first and foremost, transparency about what we actually do.

I would start with a simple question: what is the total amount allocated to your department?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Hello, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe. It is always a pleasure to see you.

I believe the amount is $6.9 billion. Ms. Anick Ouellette could confirm this.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

That seems to be the right number, as far as I can see.

How much of this amount goes to development assistance in general?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Ms. Ouellette, can you answer this question?

[Anick Ouellette, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Planning, Finance and Information Technology, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Certainly. Thank you for the question.

A large part of the $6.7 billion budget is allocated to development assistance in general. I would say it's about $4.2 billion.