Foreign Affairs Committee on March 24th, 2022

[Marta Morgan]

I understand the frustration around this and I certainly understand and note the frustration of the family, because this is a very difficult situation for a family to find themselves in and for an individual to find themselves in, but you can be assured, Mr. Chair, that our department is actively engaged at the most senior levels and is consistently trying to, at a minimum, gain consular access to Mr. Celil, which has been a challenge.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you.

It was just announced that President Biden and the White House have indicated that they would like to see Russia ejected from the G20. Does Canada have a position on that issue as of yet?

[Marta Morgan]

We are working with our close allies to look at how we need to deal with Russia in every international forum in order to isolate it, and we would support isolating Russia in every international forum. The question is really, on a case-by-case basis, what the best way is to do that.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Given that the G7 actually released its communiqué and indicated the position you have just stated, what are some of the other fora from the membership of which it appears we could successfully eject Russia?

[Marta Morgan]

We're looking across the whole range of international fora and working not just with Global Affairs but across all government departments. I think you would be surprised to know how many international fora there actually are. We need to look at each one on a case-by-case basis to see what the most effective way or the most effective thing we can do is.

The Arctic Council is a good example. We have paused all meetings of the Arctic Council, because Russia is in the chair of the Arctic Council. We're assessing what the best way would be for us to actually sustain the constructive work that organization has been doing over many years, which is of real importance to Canada.

In each case, we need to look at what the best way to do it is, how we do that and how we make sure that we sustain the effective, important work those organizations are doing.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you very much, Ms. Morgan. That's it for me.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you, Mr. Ehsassi.

We are coming up on eight minutes before 5:30. We have four intervenors waiting.

If we do two minutes each and get everybody in that way, would that be okay? It will be a very quick two minutes back and forth, and then everybody gets a chance to get in their last question.

Mr. Bergeron, you have the floor for two minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to be brief.

In May 2020, the previous Minister of Foreign Affairs, François-Philippe Champagne, came out in favour of Taiwan joining the World Health Organization. After that, we felt that the Canadian government seemed more favourable to admitting Taiwan to the World Health Assembly.

So, first, are we still in favour of Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization?

Since then, we have heard Taiwan express its desire to join the International Civil Aviation Organization, which I think is entirely appropriate, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

What is Canada's position on those requests by Taiwan?

[Marta Morgan]

Thank you for your question.

We are in favour of supporting Taiwan's participation in organizations to which its participation and its presence have made an important contribution. We are disappointed that Taiwan has not been able to participate, for example,

in some of the World Health Assembly and the ICAO triennial assembly since 2016, due to pressure from the mainland. However, we would certainly support Taiwan's participation in those fora.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

If I might ask another question, Mr. Chair.

According to Al Jazeera, the Ethiopian government has declared an indefinite humanitarian truce, effective immediately, stating that it hoped to expedite the delivery of emergency aid to the Tigray region.

Have you heard this information, that there is now an indefinite humanitarian truce, effective immediately?

If so, does the Government of Canada intend to take the opportunity offered by this truce to expedite the delivery of aid to the people of Tigray?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Please give a brief answer.

[Marta Morgan]

This is something that the Government of Canada has been calling for since this conflict began. We think it's critical to get humanitarian assistance into the region.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much.

Next is Ms. McPherson, please, for two minutes.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

This came up in the House today. I think you all are aware that we are about to celebrate the anniversary of the seventh year that Yemen has been under attack and at war. Over a quarter of a million people have been killed. There have been four million people displaced because of the war, and 70% of the population, including 11.3 million children, are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

For me, the obviousness of Canada selling arms to the Saudi regime, which is in fact putting these harms on the people of Yemen, is quite hard to bear. The United Nations Human Rights Council has twice named Canada as one of the states that are fuelling the ongoing war in Yemen by continuing arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Considering that Canada is trying to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, will you be reviewing the sale of LAVs to Saudi Arabia, which have been named by the United Nations as being used in the conflict in Yemen?

[Marta Morgan]

Mr. Chair, Canada has one of the strongest export control systems in the world, and respect for human rights is enshrined in that legislation. Every export permit application is reviewed under our risk assessment framework and is fully consistent with the Arms Trade Treaty, which is inscribed in our Export and Import Permits Act.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

A 2019 report by Global Affairs Canada said there were some concerns about that. I'm wondering how you can have concerns in 2019, but in 2022 think it is completely all right.

[Marta Morgan]

Mr. Chair, we are also very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which is one of the most difficult situations globally right now. We fully support humanitarian assistance for Yemen and doing everything we can to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Ms. McPherson.

Next is Mr. Chong, please, for two minutes. Go ahead.

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

Thank you.

I just have a clarification. I think it was the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that said that food prices were going to spike by 22%, but there are alarm bells ringing, and I guess I'll finish not with a question, but with a comment to Global Affairs officials, both online and here in the room.

I do not think the government is seized with this problem. I think it's pertinent in the discussions taking place about natural gas in Europe, whether it's at the International Energy Agency, the joint statement between the Prime Minister and the European Commission or the discussions that have taken place at NATO.

Canada is the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the world, and nitrogen fertilizer, which accounts for a half of the world's food production, comes from natural gas, from this process called the Haber-Bosch process. I know this because I come from an agricultural region.

Agricultural producers are ringing the alarm bells. I've had agricultural producers in my region and farmers coming to me in the last several weeks saying there is an emergency with nitrogen fertilizer. Crops are going into the ground in the next 10 weeks or so. If that nitrogen isn't applied, crop yields will drop. In fact, right now in Europe there is a 10% shortage in nitrogen fertilizer. Analysts estimate that's going to lead to a minimum drop in European crop production of at least 7% to 9% this year. You add to that the food inflation of the last 24 months; you add to that one of the world's major breadbaskets, Ukraine, at risk of not planting the crop this year, and we could be looking at a major food shortage in six months. Governments need to be seized with this issue right now.

I want to put this on the table, Mr. Chair, because I don't think we are seized with it. We as a country are privileged, not just because of our immense land mass, which produces lots of the grains and oilseeds this world consumes, but also because we have the natural gas to produce the urea that needs to be applied in the next 10 to 12 weeks to make sure we can feed the world.

This is a crisis we have not seen in decades. I think governments need to be seized with it right now, particularly in light of the discussions taking place at NATO, the International Energy Agency, and between Canada and the European Commission this week.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Mr. Chong, thank you very much.

Our final intervenor this afternoon will be Mr. Zuberi or Madam Bendayan.

Mr. Zuberi, go ahead, please.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Thank you.

Very quickly, I'm of South Asian heritage. There have been concerns around the treatment of minorities within the world's largest democracy, India, our friend, and the protection of those minorities, especially as of late. Can you tell us what we are doing as a country to see that the touchstone values of minorities within India, the world's largest democracy, are being respected and protected, and are actually being realized?

[Marta Morgan]

Maybe I could comment on the previous comment before I answer this question, which is to say that we are very seized with this issue. The G7 is very seized with this issue. We see fertilizer prices increasing. We see food supply shortages. We know there will be a humanitarian consequence and that it needs to be addressed collectively.

In terms of the human rights issues in India, I was actually in India last week, and I had the privilege of meeting with a number of human rights defenders and also a number of women to discuss feminist foreign policy. One of the things we do in our mission is support this kind of discussion. We provide safe spaces for human rights defenders to come and to discuss issues and to talk about how they're going to work together. We also have local programming through which we can support that kind of work.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

You have 30 seconds, if you have another quick one.

Ms. Bendayan.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Very quickly, I have a question as to what may be causing you to hesitate or block the possibility of establishing an embassy in Armenia.

[Marta Morgan]

Our international footprint is determined by our budget. We have embassies in over 110 countries, and we have offices in different places. Really, our footprint is a function of decisions that have been made and the budget that we have.