Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 19th, 2020

[Maxime Michel]

Perhaps I can add to that.

I think that's an excellent point and a great observation. Everything having to do with local capacity is so crucial.

We deliver programming in Uganda in support of South Sudanese refugees. I urge you to view the situation from a local perspective. When organizations could not provide services in the same way because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the local communities, themselves, came together to help one another. Women's groups sought to help victims of violence in their communities and resolve those types of conflicts.

When we say local capacity, of course, we mean organizations that can respond or build partnerships with organizations like ours. However, what we really want to see is local groups working to ensure mechanisms are in place ahead of time, so that the community can respond to a crisis like this.

[Joe Belliveau]

If I may, just to complement that.... Pardon me for not continuing in the language of Molière.

Certainly, such statements are welcome. In terms of our experience on the ground, we absolutely cannot say that there's any sort of difference, let's say, in the level of conflict that is causing crises around the world.

Maybe I'll use the question as an occasion to speak to one particular aspect, one particular angle of our humanitarian assistance, which is migration and people seeking asylum. We don't see any sort of slowdown in terms of the people on the move who are fleeing violence and conflict-ridden situations. On the contrary, we are seeing many more challenges in people getting across borders in order to seek asylum in countries.

One of the most glaring examples is the closure of the American border to refugees coming north since March. The Canadian government also, at its border, has made it significantly more difficult for asylum seekers to cross in, but we see this pattern around the world, where people are getting stuck in camps and in very difficult situations because they cannot get across borders to seek asylum.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time left. Since I can't tack it on to my next turn, I will try to squeeze in a question for Mr. Sauvé.

I, too, wanted to address the issue of local capacity. Your organization is active in areas where natural disasters and COVID-19 converge. Much has been said in the media about the importance of taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis—if indeed such a thing is possible—to come up with strategies to combat climate change. I would appreciate hearing more about that. I know you won't have enough time, but perhaps you can finish during my next turn or in your response to another member's question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Please provide a very short answer.

[Conrad Sauvé]

I won't be able to provide a short answer.

It's important to recognize that epidemics and pandemics are part of a cycle. There was Ebola, cholera and so on. It's not just about responding to that specific crisis. It's about rethinking how systems are structured to deliver responses in the future.

As far as encroaching on the animal realm and all the rest goes, is there a connection? I would say that, right now, we are showing that there is. We are in a cycle where we must not only respond to the current crisis, but also prepare for the new reality.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you, Mr. Sauvé.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

The purpose of the study is precisely to prepare for the next events.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you.

Ms. McPherson, you have six minutes, please.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank all of the witnesses who are joining us today.

I have to say that listening to all three organizations speak about the way they've been able to pivot, the way they've been able to respond so strongly to the COVID-19 pandemic, makes me extremely proud of our Canadian civil society organizations and also, of course, very worried, because I do hear the concern in all of your voices about the impact of COVID-19 now but also into the future. I do share that concern with you.

The first question I thought I would ask is with regard to CARE Canada, just to follow up on my colleague from the Conservatives, who talked a bit about that additional $400 million in international development funding that was allocated in 2020, and the worry, the concern, that it would not all get out the door and be disbursed this fiscal year.

First of all, has CARE Canada received any of that funding? I guess that's the very first question. That's an easy one.

[Barbara Grantham]

No, we have not.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Could you talk a little bit more about the humanitarian response that you'd be able to do with the funds if you were able to get that funding before the end of the fiscal year?

[Barbara Grantham]

I think we would work very quickly. We'd be able to pivot very quickly with some of the concept notes we already have in the pipeline to do some pretty life-saving and transformative work, even with just some top-up from that $400 million.

We would be able to do some work in Sudan, for example, around PPE with community health workers. We'd be able to do some work in Afghanistan with women's rights organizations, and provide vocational training for women-headed households to produce PPE and sell it to markets as a way to bring them to livelihood. In Somalia, I think we would be able to do some really compelling work in the whole area of health system surveillance and triaging referrals for COVID-19 patients towards isolation centres. This would keep the overall population infrastructure at a more appropriate social distance to keep people safe and keep down transmission rates.

Those are just three examples in Sudan, Afghanistan and Somalia that give you a sense of what we'd be able to do in fairly short order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Ms. Grantham, can I interject for just 20 seconds? Could you just raise...?

Perfect. You've anticipated my question. Thanks.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Those are very important programs and projects to undertake. I do appreciate the ability of CARE Canada to pivot so quickly.

I do want to ask a quick question of our colleagues from MSF. I did want to mention that I was a volunteer, in university, with MSF. I'm so excited that you're here today.

You spoke a little bit about the vaccines and your concerns about getting those vaccines out to fragile and conflict-affected states. We know that Canada has put $550-ish million into the COVAX fund, and that's good. We also know, however, that it is vastly underfunded and that if there is not a larger concerted effort, we're looking at increased mortality of around 30%. Conceivably, it could be two to three years before some regions and some conflict-affected countries get the vaccine.

Could you talk about what you would like Canada's contribution to look like? What would a perfect Canadian response be?

[Dr. Jason Nickerson]

Absolutely. Maybe I'll come back to my earlier comment that with all of these initiatives, the devil is in the details.

I mentioned the example of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the previous AMC. Just to give you a sense of what that looks like, in that instance the vaccine was available. The lowest local price was $3.10 per dose. You need three doses to confer immunity. Because humanitarians did not have a specific humanitarian mechanism to access it when we wanted to access it to vaccinate 5,000 refugee children in Greece, we were charged a price of $68.10 per dose. That's your gap.

The funding of COVAX is absolutely essential. This is the international mechanism we're looking at for procuring vaccines for low- and middle-income countries. I think we need to have a conversation around how humanitarian organizations are going to access it. It's a bit difficult to plan down the road because we don't actually know what vaccines we're talking about specifically. That introduces questions of cold chain vaccination strategies and those sorts of things. Again, there's a big conversation to be had once we know more specifically what we're talking about.

I think it's really important that Canada not only be a donor to COVAX, but contribute—and continue to contribute, because there certainly is a lot of energy going into this—to make sure that this is being designed and implemented to be guided by principles of equitable and affordable access.

Again, this comes back to the issues of transparency. Let's be transparent about what the not-for-profit price is that's being put forward. Let's make sure that we're getting a good deal and that doses are being sourced and procured as quickly and as affordably as possible.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Just to be clear, then, I'm assuming that you would like to see an equal contribution to our global vaccine response as to our domestic vaccine response. Does that mean you would like to see more funds from the Canadian government going towards COVAX?

[Dr. Jason Nickerson]

Yes, I think that's certainly one option. We were talking about funding in 2020. COVAX is talking about funding in 2021, so I think it's absolutely going to be important.

There's a conversation to be had, as well.... Canada has procured a large number of vaccine doses, and I think there's probably an opportunity to really have a conversation, if there is a surplus.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Ms. McPherson and Mr. Nickerson. We'll have it to leave it there.

Colleagues, we're 10 minutes away from our hard stop at 4:30. We do have a second panel that needs to be sound-checked. If we're disciplined and on time, that leaves two five-minute rounds, the first of which goes to Mr. Diotte.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Thank you very much.

Thanks for all the good work you all do. It's absolutely vital, especially in the kind of times we're having right now.

On that note, I'm just wondering what particular countries are most in need of help from Canada due to COVID? Whoever wants to lead off with an observation on that is free to do so. I'm also wondering if you can give a concrete example of what kind of specific help they would need.

Who wants to go first?

[Barbara Grantham]

I'll give you a concrete example. I was on the phone this morning, for a good chunk of time actually, with a woman named Ruth, who works for CARE in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. I asked Ruth what the impact of COVID has been in Cox's. She runs the gender-based violence and the gender emergencies programs for CARE in Cox's Bazar and oversees 152 staff.

Ruth talked of how they've had to decrease the staff in the camp by 50% so that they now work on a rotational basis. She talked about the horrific increase in cases of gender-based violence, particularly intimate partner violence, because of the restrictions on movement. She shared with me the increase in child marriages as a coping mechanism for families because of the loss of livelihood; they need the child marriage in order to meet a dowry requirement.

She is fearful, deeply fearful, as a younger woman, about the loss of the gains we have made in sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence over the last 15 to 20 years. We have to use this opportunity, with aid from countries like Canada, to reverse that trend line we are seeing, which has happened so quickly. We've worked so hard as a global community to make these gains over the last 15 years, and we are at risk of losing them in less than 12 months.

Then I asked her what gave her hope. She said that she wakes up every day knowing that she is making change, no matter how small it is, and that gives her the urge to continue on for a just and more equal world.

I'd like to think there's something Canada could do in a constituency like Cox's Bazar—and there are many Cox's Bazar equivalents around the world—where we could make a difference for the women and girls that Ruth and her team of 150 others are working with every day.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

That's excellent. While we have you here, my riding of Edmonton Griesbach has a really vibrant Somali Canadian community.

I believe, Ms. Grantham, you said that there has been a spike in female genital mutilation. Can you explain why that is? Why is that due to COVID? Is it because they're home more? What is happening there?

[Barbara Grantham]

Maxime, do you want to lead off on that?

[Maxime Michel]

Certainly there are some links with child marriage as well, which we've seen in other areas where school is closed and where families are having trouble making ends meet. FGM is sometimes a necessity to have a daughter be married off. There are a lot of different elements that factor into that, but those would be some that are affecting the families for sure.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Right.

Getting back to the other countries—the original question I asked—where there is a real need for Canadian help on COVID, could anybody else chime in and mention a couple of the real problem areas?

[Joe Belliveau]

This probably won't be a very satisfying answer to your question, Mr. Diotte, but I do want to bring it back to our experience. In the 70 or so contexts where we're providing emergency humanitarian assistance, COVID itself is very seldom at the top of the list of need, particularly in terms of medical need. What we are seeing are more the impacts in terms of restriction of movement and the diversion of personnel and facilities for the COVID response, which then takes away from the response to other types of emergency interventions.

I know that's not so satisfying for your question, but we need to put the spotlight back on what is being missed because of the attention to the COVID response.