Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 26th, 2020

[Peggy Hicks]

We've seen different problems in different places. Sometimes it's the case that minority groups don't have as much access to services or to information about the pandemic.

We've also seen, I believe in Canada and in other western countries and elsewhere, that groups that have had less access to health care have had disproportionate impacts in terms of the virus. The racial disparity that's been found in COVID response and impact statistics is really profound and is something that needs a great deal of additional care and attention in terms of why it's happening and how we can best address it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Ms. Hicks.

Thank you, Mr. Fonseca.

I'll now give the floor to Mr. Bergeron for two and a half minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Hicks, for your responses earlier.

I'll now turn to Ms. Triggs.

Unfortunately, I have very little time. I'll ask you three questions at once. If you don't have enough time to answer the three questions, I would appreciate it if you could send us additional written comments.

Ms. Triggs, we know that the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees works with various sister agencies, including UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees. Some agencies, including this one, are experiencing funding issues that pose a threat to their operations.

How is this funding issue being addressed for a number of agencies working with refugees on the ground?

We saw that people tried to leave Hong Kong by sea, but were intercepted by the Chinese authorities. How does the Office of the High Commissioner anticipate possible population displacements in order to ensure the safety of people who want to leave Hong Kong and seek refuge elsewhere?

What can you tell us about the displacement of people following the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh?

[Gillian Triggs]

I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I do not have translation services, and I can't answer that question. What I will do is ask that the questions be interpreted for me, and I'll make sure you get a proper written answer in due course.

My apologies again.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Mr. Bergeron, you have 30 seconds left.

Do you have any other comments or questions?

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Now that I know that Ms. Triggs is completely unable to hear or understand the questions that I'm asking her, we'll simply wait until the questions have been translated for her so that we can receive answers.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Bergeron.

The last round goes to Ms. McPherson, for two and a half minutes.

The floor is yours, please.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just want to follow up on what my colleague Mr. Fonseca asked about.

Ms. Triggs, you spoke about the role that Canada has in terms of advocating and speaking to certain countries. Could you talk a bit about which countries you are referring to? If you could be blunt and name them, please, what are those countries that we should be prioritizing?

[Gillian Triggs]

I am reluctant to be naming countries. I think that's really not appropriate.

What I can say is that we have 25 or 26 countries in the world that provide resettlement services, for example, and that most of those are with very small numbers. We really need to broaden the base to get more support. The base is far too small. I think there are obviously many countries in the world that don't have the capacity, but there are many in Europe, in the northern hemisphere in particular, that do have the capacity, and some in the southern hemisphere.

I think this is where we need to give real effect to the principle of sharing in the Global Compact, to which 181 countries agreed. That's really where we would see a potential for Canadian advocacy.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

For us to do more of that effort.... Thank you so much.

The next question that I will put forward is around human trafficking, the impact that COVID-19 has had on human trafficking and whether or not that trafficking has been exacerbated during the pandemic.

Perhaps, Ms. Hicks, you could talk a bit about that.

[Peggy Hicks]

Thank you.

Our expert on human trafficking has been concerned about the impacts, and we are working to see more documentation of that, but there is a concern that, as one of the earlier questions put it, some of this activity moves to the background in a way that makes it more difficult to address the problems that are being faced by people who are being trafficked.

As well, there is a concern that any time there is an economic downturn and greater risk, there's more potential for people to be pulled into trafficking. There are certainly very big risk factors, and from our perspective it's certainly an issue that deserves further attention.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you very much.

I believe that is the end of my time. I will pass it back to you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Ms. McPherson, thank you very much. That's perfectly timed.

Colleagues, on our collective behalf, I would like to thank our two witnesses, Ms. Triggs and Ms. Hicks, for their time today, for their expertise and, very importantly, for their service on these very important issues around the world. Also, indirectly through you, our thanks for the service of your teammates, who we know are doing tremendous work.

We will revert with some requests for written information, and we will now allow you to disconnect, with our thanks and gratitude.

We'll allow our next panel to connect and be sound-checked. We'll suspend for a couple of minutes.

Thank you so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Welcome back, everyone.

For the benefit of our new witnesses, I encourage all participants to please mute their microphones when they're not speaking and address their comments to the chair. I will signal when you have 30 seconds left in your questioning or speaking time with this yellow sheet of paper. Once again, interpretation is available at the bottom of your screen through the globe icon.

I now want to welcome our second panel of witnesses.

We have with us, from Plan International Canada, Tanjina Mirza, chief program officer.

We're joined by Michael Messenger, president and chief executive officer of World Vision Canada; and Lindsay Gladding, director of fragile and humanitarian programs.

From the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, we have Paul Hagerman, director of public policy; and Stefan Epp-Koop, program development officer.

Without further ado, and with my thanks for your patience, I will turn it over to Ms. Mirza for her opening comments of five minutes.

The floor is yours.

[Dr. Tanjina Mirza, Chief Program Officer, Plan International Canada Inc.]

Thank you so much for inviting me to speak to the committee today.

COVID-19 has really increased the vulnerability, especially for children and girls, in situations of conflict and displacement. Plan International is one of the largest international child rights organizations. We strive to end gender inequality and promote children's rights everywhere. We work in contexts that are heavily burdened by crisis and conflict.

As a global organization, Plan International's COVID-19 response has reached over 72 million women, men, girls and boys with life-saving programs in developing countries and countries that are facing crises and conflict.

Today I want to highlight three key points. Number one, COVID is deepening inequalities with a disproportionate impact on young girls and eroding the progress that has been made so far on children's rights and gender equality. Number two, the magnitude of the problem we are facing in this COVID pandemic requires global, holistic, system-wide approaches and solutions. Number three, this is the time, more than ever before, to ask for Canada's leadership to advance the rights of children, especially girls.

Let me elaborate the first point. Plan International is deeply concerned about the pandemic's impact on children, especially girls. The consequences of the pandemic have been grave. Over 13 million children are refugees and there are 17 million internally displaced children living in camps and often in very overcrowded settlements. Girls in crisis are telling us that COVID has further worsened the existing vulnerabilities that children have been facing. The risk of transmission of disease is very high in these overcrowded places. The education system is often inadequate. Even basic services like water and sanitation infrastructure are inadequate. Sexual and reproductive health rights are threatened, and we are seeing gender-based violence increase at an exponential rate in this COVID pandemic.

Around the world, Plan has adapted its programs to respond to this pandemic in communities where we work. Our response aims to prevent transmission, mitigate the impact of COVID among the world's most vulnerable children in refugee camps, displaced settlements and conflict environments.

My second point is that the pandemic is shining a light on the fragmented system we have. A well-thought-out response requires a coordinated, integrated, system-wide strategy, a whole-of-government strategy. This may seem like a tall order, but we all know that this is the effective way forward.

Let's take an example. The education system is a lifeline for children in a crisis context. It is estimated that more than 128 million children are out of school because of conflict and disasters. Every day a girl in crisis is out of school she is at a risk of physical violence, sexual violence and psychological distress, and lacks adequate nutrition. She faces an increasing risk of early marriage, often forced marriage, child labour, trafficking and armed conflict.

Having been a refugee myself who has gone through crisis as a young girl, I can tell you that it changes the course of one's life. But I was fortunate. Through it all, my education remained constant, but for most of the refugee girls and children, that is not the case. If the current trend continues, by 2030 only one in three girls in crisis-affected countries will ever get to complete secondary school. During times of crisis, all actors have to redouble their efforts to ensure that we have a robust system to protect and safeguard children, especially girls.

My final point is that Canada's leadership is needed now more than ever. Canadians can be proud of our global response to COVID. Global problems like global pandemics require robust, bold solutions. The pandemic has heightened awareness that the planet is truly interconnected. The prosperity of Canadians is linked to people around the world.

Plan Canada welcomed the Speech from the Throne commitment to increase official development assistance. We look forward to seeing this commitment being actioned in the next budget. This investment is urgently needed, and with a timetable.

In closing, as the world grapples with the crisis, new gender transformative pathways are needed to build back better. Plan Canada stands ready to ensure that Canada's international COVID response carves a path that positively impacts the lives of millions of children globally, especially the girls who need it most and were often left behind.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you, Ms. Mirza, for your opening comments.

I'll now turn the floor over to team World Vision Canada.

Mr. Messenger and Ms. Gladding, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Michael Messenger, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Vision Canada]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for inviting World Vision to contribute to this important and timely study. I'm joined by my colleague Lindsay Gladding, our director for fragile and humanitarian programs.

By way of background, World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization. We're working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. We're working in nearly 100 countries on the basis of need, with no strings attached. We're grateful for the support of more than 650,000 Canadians and partners.

Our presentation refers to the first segment of this study focusing on the humanitarian response along with the upcoming second segment. We're very pleased to see you looking even more closely at the effects on children.

In April 2015, I was in Nepal less than 24 hours after the devastating earthquake that caused so much destruction in that country. As I travelled around the region for the next couple of weeks, seeing how the disaster had caused pain, heartbreak and need in so many places, every so often we would feel the earth move under our feet again. We experienced many aftershocks, some nearly as powerful as the initial quake. Every time it happened, I knew that more families would lose their homes, more deaths would occur, more children would be left vulnerable. Even after the main earthquake was over, the aftershocks amplified the impact.

I am telling that story because, as we think about the earthquake that is COVID-19 causing incredible hardship around the world, we know that the initial health impacts, which are so significant, are only part of the story. Vulnerable populations, especially girls and boys in some of the world’s toughest places, can expect to experience ongoing aftershocks that will continue, and secondary impacts on health, well-being, education and livelihoods that may be worse than the initial waves. In fact, as we’ve done our work and research on this, we have titled our research series “Aftershocks” for that reason.

With that story, I want to convey two key messages today. First, COVID-19 is setting back the critical progress being made for the most vulnerable girls and boys through the pandemic and its secondary impacts. Second, Canada, like other donors, can play a critical role in the response, through more agile, flexible and integrated programming and funding, and by stepping up to the increased needs with higher levels of funding for urgently needed humanitarian and development efforts.

I'll share briefly World Vision’s global response. In March, immediately after the pandemic was declared, we started the largest humanitarian response in our 70-year history, building on our long-term community presence. The $350-million U.S. response has already reached 55 million women, men, girls and boys by focusing on prevention measures, strengthening local health systems and supporting children affected by COVID-19 through education, child protection and livelihood interventions.

We worked closely with bilateral and multilateral donors, including Global Affairs Canada. For example, Global Affairs provided an additional $5 million to an ongoing consortium, a five-year health grant in Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania and Myanmar. Being there on the ground with the pandemic allowed us and our partners to respond quickly. Because of the additional funding, we were able to pivot and scale up rather than create new projects from the ground up. Canada certainly should be commended for supporting pivots like this, and we should do more.

A key part of our COVID-19 response has been to address the pandemic’s impact on children. We know that, over eight months into the global pandemic, evidence shows that while children may not be at the most immediate risk from the virus itself, they are experiencing indirect negative impacts. These are the aftershocks.

We’ve had a chance to hear from children themselves, and we want to make space for their voices to be heard. A recent consultation we did across 50 countries showed, for example, that violence has surged in the past year. Of those interviewed, 81% said they have seen or faced violence in their homes, communities or even online since the start of the pandemic. As we learned from the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa or the DRC, and certainly following up on what Ms. Mirza was saying, girls are particularly in jeopardy. Child and forced marriage is on the rise, as is sexual violence and unwanted pregnancy. These and other challenges aren't limiting their impact.

I will conclude with three recommendations.

First, Canadian support for programming and interventions must prioritize and address the pandemic’s indirect impacts on children. As you conclude your study, I urge you to not only address the immediate health crisis, but also consider the aftershocks.

Second, the Government of Canada can continue to lead the way by being more agile and flexible, quicker and effective in responding to a global crisis. We're dealing with the silos of a short-term humanitarian response on the one hand, and long-term development on the other, with different funding mechanisms, support and expectations that are inadequate to recognize the shift as we address changing situations. We have had to pivot and adjust on the fly, but the funding systems often don’t keep up, so we think there's work we can do to break down those bureaucratic hurdles, and it is a critical opportunity.

Third, increased needs require increased funding. While Canada has provided much-needed additional funds for COVID-19 efforts and we’ve recently heard encouraging promises, the long-term challenges we see will require even more ambition. Specifically, we urge the government to provide clarity on Canada's funding for international development by including a timetable of year-over-year increases to the international assistance envelope. It's all because we simply cannot allow the gains we’ve made together to fight extreme poverty shrink or disappear because of a lack of resources to support the most vulnerable. Canada has been a leader in standing up for the needs of the vulnerable, and we should support our ambition with increased funding that will drive global impact to fight the earthquakes like COVID-19, as well as their terrible aftershocks.

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

Thank you for your attention.

We look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you so much, Mr. Messenger.

Our final set of opening remarks will be from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Mr. Hagerman and Mr. Epp-Koop, the floor is yours for five minutes. Please go ahead.

[Paul Hagerman, Director, Public Policy, Canadian Foodgrains Bank]

Thank you.

I'll be speaking on behalf of the Foodgrains Bank, and Stefan will be available for questions, if necessary.

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for the opportunity to appear. I'm so glad the committee is studying this important issue.

I work with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. We provide food assistance and we support livelihoods by working through partners in about 30 countries around the world. Most of our experience with COVID comes from partners in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Our partners tell us that the impact of COVID on people’s health has not been as severe as we initially feared, due to quick action by many governments and other factors. But things could worsen without continued vigilance.

However, the knock-on effects of the pandemic and the government responses have been significant impacts on economies and on food security. In the first few months, we saw impacts across the food system. Farmers and traders lost income. Perishable food went to waste. Food prices rose. Many households struggled to buy enough. Also, food assistance programs were disrupted.

By now, some of these problems have been resolved. Our partner organizations have changed the way they work so that they can still do food assistance and still distribute food without increasing [Technical difficulty—Editor].

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Madam Clerk, I think we've lost Mr. Hagerman.

Mr. Epp-Koop, do you want to jump in and take over, or should we see if we can get him reconnected quickly? Is there any sense of what the issue is?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Erica Pereira]

Mr. Chair, he is frozen. Our technicians are working on it right now.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Mr. Epp-Koop, if you'd like, you can jump in and make a couple of points from your end, and then we'll reconnect to him when he's reactivated.

[Stefan Epp-Koop, Program Development Officer, Canadian Foodgrains Bank]

Sure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Hold on. I think you're off the hook. He's back with us.

The floor is back to you, Mr. Hagerman.

[Paul Hagerman]

How much did you hear? Can you give me an idea of where I should pick up?