Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 24th, 2020

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I speak to the CEO, and the CEO has not made that request to me. I spoke to him just last week. You can ask him, but if I have a question from Air Canada, I'll fight for them on that.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

They have requested that of your government, so I suggest maybe you talk to your colleagues.

Is Canada continuing to pursue a trade and services agreement with Hong Kong?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

It is not, at this time.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Minister. We'll have to leave it there.

The next round goes to Mr. Fonseca for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Minister.

Minister, we here in Canada are so proud of our multiculturalism. In my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville we have a large Ukrainian diaspora community. As you know, this upcoming Friday, the 27th, is Holodomor Memorial Day.

In March, you had the opportunity to visit Ukraine. I'd like you to update our committee on the bilateral relations that Canada has with this region, with the country of Ukraine, and state how Canada is working with the Minister of National Defence to ensure that any deployment of Canadian Armed Forces aligns with Canada's national interests, such as Operation Unifier in Ukraine.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I'm happy that you mentioned that because I think the relationship between Canada and Ukraine has never been as good. As you suggested, our relationship is deep, with people-to-people ties. I think we have more than one million Canadians of Ukrainian origin. I was very proud to be one of the first to be in Ukraine. Actually, I'm probably one of the very few ministers who have met two foreign ministers within 24 hours, because I was there when the previous minister was there, and then the morning after there was another minister.

We have a very close collaboration, not only in our bilateral relationship but also, as you mentioned, when it comes to training a police force, when it comes to a military presence. I think there has never been a better time for all of us to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their reform.

I must say, I've been talking to the foreign minister of Ukraine. We do now what I would call text diplomacy. We've been texting each other regularly. As you know, Ukraine is a key partner when it comes to fighting for the families of the victims of PS752. We have been in close co-operation. We're going to continue to be working, helping in the reform, maintaining our presence in Ukraine, which is very meaningful, and maintaining the financial assistance that has been provided over a long time to Ukraine. I think Ukraine is at the forefront of fighting for democracy, for liberty and for freedom. We need to support it.

Mr. Fonseca, you and all of your constituents of Ukrainian origin—and for that matter, all Canadians—can rest assured that we're going to step up and be there and speak up. I think we'll continue to be the very close partner that we have shown ourselves to be since the beginning.

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

Thank you.

Minister, I understand that there is a COVID-19 foreign ministers committee or working group on these international efforts. What are we seeing in terms of combatting the COVID-19 pandemic globally, and how does Canada's response rank amongst those of G7 and G20 countries? Can you tell me more about this COVID-19 foreign ministers committee or working group?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Thank you for asking the question.

You know, it started from a very simple idea. When COVID hit all of us, many were asking, how can we do better? How can we coordinate? How can we come together? It's a very simple thing. I took my Rolodex, basically, and invited about 15 to 20 of our colleagues around the world to join a call, which we had at the height of the COVID pandemic and I think was almost weekly. I have called a good portion of the G20 countries, but also other countries such as Morocco and Peru, where, you will recall, when we were trying to repatriate, we had a lot of issues. I invited a number of countries, and it was extremely beneficial. Actually, it's continuing. We have had 13 calls.

This is one of the examples of Canada leading in the world. We've not talked much about it, but we've done a lot of work when it comes to transit hubs and when it comes to air bridges. You may recall that I said we needed to maintain—to Mr. Chong's point—air bridges, because at the beginning of the pandemic I was saying that there was a risk, as we saw during the last war, of losing some air-bridge connectivity between Canada and Europe and other regions.

We talk about supply chains and we talk about what we can do together to alleviate and to make sure that we're sharing best practices. It's really amazing, because it's one of the groups where there are no prepared statements. It lasts for an hour; Canada is chairing, and whoever can come, with countries that have been...whether it's France, whether it's Germany. We had India recently join. We have countries such as Brazil, South Korea and Singapore. It's a number of countries that just came together. Italy comes to mind. We just want to share best practices and make sure that we're creating an informal forum for foreign ministers to coordinate the response on COVID-19.

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

Minister, COVID-19 has been a challenge for countries all over the world, but what unique challenges have your global counterparts reported? How is Canada seen on that global scale in terms of our response to the pandemic?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

From the beginning of the pandemic, the Prime Minister and I wanted to make sure that the voice of the most vulnerable would be amplified. I think, for example, of our Caribbean colleagues, where, as you can imagine, when the pandemic hit, their three sources of revenue—whether it's tourism, whether it's remittances or whether it's natural resources—have all gone down, so what started as a health crisis could easily turn into a financial crisis or a food crisis in some parts of the world, which could lead to a humanitarian crisis.

That's why we have invested, and that's why we have been present, whether it's in Latin America, whether it's in Africa or whether it's in the Caribbean, to help our closest friends to make sure that they can get through this pandemic. I think Canada has shown itself to be a very trustworthy and reliable partner.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Minister, and thank you Mr. Fonseca.

I now give the floor to Mr. Bergeron for six minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, thank you for joining us. It's a pleasure to see you before the members of a parliamentary committee for the second time in less than 24 hours. That is very generous of you. We really appreciate it.

I would like to talk to you about something that has been the focus of attention for this committee's members, as you know, as it accounts for a large portion of the study we are undertaking. I am talking about the pandemic's impact on a number of vulnerable populations around the world and the World Health Organization's role in preventing this pandemic and other potential pandemics the WHO has already warned us about.

Do you feel that the WHO has played its role in properly warning the international community about the danger we were facing? Do you think some things should be adjusted, especially in light of information that the WHO is subject to pressures some may refer to as undue from the People's Republic of China, among others?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Thank you for your question, Mr. Bergeron. I am happy to see the committee taking an interest in this issue.

Clearly, the WHO could have done better. Considering that millions of people have been affected by the virus around the world, it is obvious that the WHO could have done better.

That is why Canada has joined a number of countries in saying that, although the WHO has been doing very important work during the pandemic, a time will come when we will have to question that organization's leadership and funding streams, as well as think about the warning systems that should be implemented.

It is clear that things could have been done better. As you said so well, Mr. Bergeron, we must prepare for the next pandemic. Humanity must better prepare for next time. I even said so at my last meeting with the WHO director general.

Canada and a number of other countries will continue to advocate for this, as we must better prepare for next time.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Something we have noted during the health crisis that began a few months ago is that all the international solidarity mechanisms have failed. We have seen this with the European Union, as well as with the World Health Organization. Countries have literally been competing for access to the scarce resources in order to deal with the pandemic.

Have you started thinking about what should be implemented for the future, so that international solidarity mechanisms would not disappear if another pandemic hit? As I was saying a few moments ago, the WHO has already warned us about the possibility of future pandemics. I assume that, next time, we won't be caught with our pants down like this time.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

No, I agree with you. That is why Canada has started this discussion with other countries on reforms we will need.

As you know, an investigation is currently underway on the causes of COVID-19. More generally, I was talking earlier about the committee of foreign affairs ministers on COVID-19, which was created sort of in the spirit of what you raised, Mr. Bergeron. That is one examples of Canada taking the lead and deciding to create this roundtable. Some good things have come out of it. This is a good example of us taking spontaneous action. We may be able to turn this group of foreign affairs ministers on COVID-19 into a permanent entity. I would like that. I have actually already said so.

As you say, we must already prepare for the next time. If it's not a pandemic, it will be something else. As you have clearly stated, existing organizations and groups have failed. That is why took the lead in joining forces to do things better and especially in trying to better coordinate when the world really needed it.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

We agree that coordination was lacking last time and that we must definitely do better next time.

Regarding the WHO's funding, first, do you think the newly elected administration in Washington will question the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the WHO?

Second, if the United States decided to stay away from the WHO, at least for a time, what should the international community do to try to make up for that important player's absence from its ranks?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

You will understand that I cannot speak on behalf of President-elect Biden's new administration. However, according to what I'm hearing and what I have been able to read just like you, I sense a strong desire to revive multilateralism, to revive that cohesion. There has also been talk of a summit of democracies. That is what I have read. So I feel there is a will to do more together. So much the better, as that is fully in line with this will in Canada. We know that multiculturalism is important for Canada, but also for all other countries. For example, we saw this concerning the vaccine. Canada participated with others in what was called the COVAX Facility.

As I said in my opening remarks, we will be safe at home when everyone is safe. It is to our advantage to see what can be done. Will it be done through the WHO? Perhaps so. And perhaps something else will be put forward. What is certain is that Canada wants to be at the forefront because we are aware that the well-being of Canadians will also depend on the global response to this COVID-19 crisis.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Minister and Mr. Bergeron.

It is now Mr. Harris's turn to speak.

You have six minutes, please.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for joining us again today. I was at the Canada-China committee meeting last night and probably won't ask very much about China today, because we have a variety of issues that are important for us to discuss today.

You mentioned, of course, the activity of your department in repatriating Canadians. I think that was a success story for Canada and for the officials, your government and of course with the co-operation of yourself and the parliamentary secretary in particular, and I want to compliment you for that effort. A lot of people's lives were helped by that, so thank you for that.

I want to ask first of all about the most recent international crisis, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has resulted, at least, in a ceasefire and a potential settlement and resolution of these long-standing issues between the two parties.

One of the issues that came up was the failure, or rather, the lack of any real knowledge of what was going on in this situation and in these two countries because of Canada's lack of a mission in either Armenia or Azerbaijan, Armenia being looked after through Moscow and Azerbaijan through Ankara in Turkey.

I'm wondering if Canada is prepared to revisit that and ensure that it can actually play some positive role on the ground in assisting these parties to resolve some of the major outstanding issues that still arise as a result of the ceasefire.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Thank you for the very thoughtful question, Mr. Harris. Yes, we spent a bit of time yesterday on China. Thank you for your good words for our diplomats around the world. Hopefully your message will be conveyed to them to thank them for the repatriation. All of us became consular officers, I can tell you.

To your question about Nagorno-Karabakh, Mr. Harris, you know I've spent an enormous amount of time. This is a tragedy. I've been in touch with the Armenian community on numerous occasions.

To your point about information, I feel that I have been very much informed about what is going on. I think I spoke every other day with the foreign minister of Armenia. We texted almost every day about this situation. You know that I went on a visit about security in Europe. I met with the OSCE leadership; I met with the ambassador of France, the ambassador of the United States. I also went to meet NATO and I met with the EU high representative for foreign affairs and colleagues in the region.

I would say yes to your question. We're always looking at our posture in different countries, how we can make sure that we have a more appropriate network to cover all areas. You know we have a number of missions around the world, but certainly in terms of information, I would say to the committee and to Canadians that I think I was pretty much on top of what was going on, talking to—

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

That's not my particular concern. Obviously being there on the ground on an ongoing basis, our diplomats and our people would know more, but we'd also be in a position to assist the parties if that was possible.

The Minsk group, as part of the OSCE, which we are members of, had a notable lack of success over the 16 or 20 years that it was involved in trying to resolve this dispute. By being there, you would have perhaps a role to play in assisting the parties to work together.

That was the point of my question. I'll leave you to answer that another time.

The other issue where we are perhaps lacking in support on the ground is in Africa. Over the course of the previous government's regime, a number of missions were closed. You mentioned last night the great role that China is playing in having relationships with many countries in Africa.

What is Canada doing to revive its presence in Africa, to maintain its connections with the African nations?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

As you know, Africa is close to my heart. I think that was my first official trip, to Africa. I think it was with the Aswan Forum, and then I went to Senegal; I went to Ethiopia; I went to Mali to talk about the MINUSMA and our troops there. For me, Africa is very important.

Often I say demography is destiny. If you look at the demographic trend in Africa, clearly it is a place where Canada has a special role to play in my view. We have deep historical relationships, and you know I've said many times that we should also be looking at the African continental free trade area, which I've been talking about. I spoke almost regularly to the president of the African Union and a number of foreign ministers in Africa.

In terms of our posture, as I said, Mr. Harris, we are always looking at ways we can complement our posture in Africa. I think the future is certainly very much in Africa and our presence is significant to make sure we can promote Canadian interests, values and principles.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Can you tell me why Canada—I know you're not the Minister of International Development, but as foreign minister, it's obviously very important to our position in the world—is so persistently low in terms of its official international development aid? It is worse now than under the Harper years, on a per capita basis and as a percentage of GDP. Why is that, and what are we going to do about it?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Mr. Harris, I'm sorry. We have to leave it there. Maybe there will be a chance to return to that question in a subsequent round.

We will now go to round number two.

Mr. Diotte, you have five minutes.