Foreign Affairs Committee on March 24th, 2022

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

When it comes to Ukraine, there are various factors to be considered.

Since February 1, we have been asking Canadians in Ukraine to leave. We have asked people who might have had a desire to go to Ukraine not to go. Once the war started, we have also asked people who were affected by the bombings in Ukraine to protect themselves and take refuge in safe places.

As I have said in the past, this is a personal decision for the people who decide to go there. However, the capacity to offer consular services is extremely limited because our diplomats have left Ukraine and are working from southern Poland, at least for the time being.

In the circumstances, when people decide to go and fight alongside their Ukrainian colleagues and friends, and sometimes family, that is really a personal decision, but it must be based on an informed choice.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

In your introduction, you said that our government's goal is really to suffocate the Russian regime by imposing sanctions.

Can you explain a little more what that means? Does that goal include Vladimir Putin leaving?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

The goal is certainly to put enormous pressure on President Putin and his entourage. That is why we have imposed sanctions on Vladimir Putin himself. We have imposed sanctions on his Minister of Foreign Affairs, his Minister of Justice, his Minister of Finance, his Minister of Defence, and all members of the Duma, the lower house. Today, we have announced sanctions against members of the upper house, the equivalent of our Senate. We have also targeted several oligarchs. We have put enormous pressure on, in economic terms. We have removed several Russian banks from the SWIFT system.

So we can see that in economic terms, Russia is paying dearly for its decision to invade Ukraine. That is why we have seen the value of the ruble plummet.

In physical terms, we have closed the West's airspace in order to isolate the Russian public and prevent them from coming to the West.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you, Ms. Bendayan.

Your speaking time is up.

I will now turn the floor over to Mr. Bergeron for two and a half minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, you know there have been several newspaper articles that have brought to light the difficulty francophones have in finding a place in your department. One of the mandates assigned to you by the Prime Minister is to promote the French language across all diplomatic missions.

First, I would like you to tell us about the initiatives that have been taken by you to make sure that the other official language of this country is firmly in place and clearly visible within your department.

Second, in connection with that question, it will soon have been a year since the position of ambassador of Canada in Paris became vacant. If I am not mistaken, it took only six weeks to fill the position of High Commissioner in London.

Why does it take so long to fill the position of ambassador in Paris when our relationship with France goes back many years, in fact since this country was founded?

What explains our taking so long to fill this position? Is it because no one can be found in the Liberal ranks to hold the position?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, colleague. That is a very good question.

You know that the subject of official languages is a fundamental one for me. It has been part of my involvement in politics since I have been a minister and since I have been in federal politics.

In the White Paper I tabled as the former Minister of Official Languages, there was certainly an intention to do more in terms of the place of French at Global Affairs Canada and in our Canadian diplomacy. The objective of the bill on the modernization of the Official Languages Act was to crystalize the role of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie for Canada. That objective has been achieved.

When I was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I spoke with the Deputy Minister, Marta Morgan, about my concerns regarding the status of French at Global Affairs Canada. That is why two new francophone assistant deputy ministers were recently appointed. We can see them on the monitor. Allow me to introduce Antoine Chevrier and Alexandre Lévêque. They are responsible for Sub-Saharan Africa and for all public policy within Global Affairs, respectively. Of course, our colleagues at Global Affairs may work in both official languages.

I would like to point out that I ask that my preparatory meetings take place in French. I work with diplomats in French, and sometimes in English, of course, depending on my counterparts' language and the issues I am working on.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bergeron; your time is up.

Ms. McPherson, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, today you were talking about how what we're seeing in Ukraine has chilling echoes of what we saw in Syria. We are seeing the war crimes and the crimes against humanity that we saw in Syria being repeated in Ukraine, almost as if they were a blueprint.

One of the things I am seized with when I reflect on that is that we still have Canadian citizens who are being held with no charge—they're still being arbitrarily detained—in northern Syria. They are Canadian citizens. Many of them are children.

What is being attempted to bring those Canadian citizens back to Canada and, if needed, to try them here, if they are guilty of crimes?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you for that very important question, Heather.

You may recall that my colleague, former minister Garneau, worked on a very important directive to make sure that Canadians who were in Syria, particularly children, could be supported to come back to Canada. Indeed, that has happened in certain cases. Also, there was in that directive the fact that people who were facing health challenges would also be supported.

Our goal is to make sure that when they come to Canada, they are tried under the Criminal Code. We also take very seriously the threat posed by Daesh, because we know that people who are held in that camp in Syria are also linked to this threat.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

The children clearly aren't, Minister.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

That is why we put into place this approach.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I would highlight to you that, of course, a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, and all Canadians deserve consular support.

I have one last question.

Very quickly, could you tell us a bit more about how you are implementing the feminist foreign policy, when we can expect more information about that? Perhaps you could touch a little on what we could be doing to ensure that those principles of the feminist foreign policy are embedded in our response in Ukraine as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Minister, with apologies, we need a very brief answer. You're literally down to seconds in this intervention.

There might be a chance to follow up in response to other colleagues' questions on that same issue.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Our government is definitely a feminist government and believes in this feminist foreign policy that we've put into place. Women's peace and security are fundamental.

In Ukraine right now, a lot of mothers, grandmothers and children are fleeing the country, since men are under conscription rules. That's why we want to have an approach that is based on their needs and that is in line with how we approach the crisis.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Thank you very much, Ms. McPherson. Thank you, Minister.

Next we will have Mr. Morantz, please, for five minutes.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister, for your candid responses today.

One thing I'm curious about is NATO's position on the no-fly zone. I think the rationale is correct as to why it wouldn't be appropriate to have one, but what I'm more curious about is why NATO chose to make that position public. Why broadcast to someone like Mr. Putin what you might or might not do? Why not keep him on tenterhooks, wondering what we might do?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Marty, I can't speak in the name of Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO. This is the position that NATO took and decided to communicate. I won't go into the different hypotheses for why it did so.

I can tell you, though, that many members of the alliance want to make sure that we do as much as possible without crossing this red line posed by NATO. We know that the question of the airspace in this conflict is important. That is why we've provided ammunition and lethal aid, and that's why other countries have also done so in a very substantial manner.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you.

My next question has to do with the ongoing talks between Ukraine and Russia, although it's unclear what progress has actually been made. There have been reports lately of a potential peace agreement, or not a peace agreement, but a ceasefire, at least. I'm sorry. I wish it was a peace agreement.

Do you have any information you can share with the committee on what actual progress is going on in the bilateral discussions between Ukraine and Russia?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

That is one of the reasons I speak to Dmytro Kuleba, my counterpart minister of foreign affairs, two or three times a week: to know what is going on at the negotiation table and how we can reinforce them.

I can't go into the details, but we provide our reading of the situation and advice to the Ukrainian government. Since we have a very close relationship with Ukraine, many times we've taken the different demands that Ukraine wants to make to the G7 and we've passed them on bilaterally to many of the G7 members. That is why I have many conversations with my German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, who I get along very well with, as well as Liz Truss from the U.K., Tony Blinken, etc.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

One of the items in the mandate letter calls for you to work with the Minister of International Development to:

establish a Canadian centre to expand the availability of Canadian expertise and assistance to those seeking to build peace, advance justice, promote human rights, inclusion and democracy....

That's a very important initiative in light of how the world has changed, as you pointed out. Could you inform the committee as to what progress has been made on that item?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

We are definitely looking at what we can do in the world to promote, support and empower democracy. That is why we participated in the democracy summit organized by the United States, and it's also why we're working on different initiatives, including, for example, the arbitrary detention declaration. I will have more to say about that in the coming weeks, because it's something that my team and I are actively working on.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Yesterday, the United States cybersecurity adviser—I realize this is a security question, but if you have any information on this, I'd appreciate your providing it to the committee—took to the White House podium to say that there's an increasing likelihood of a Russian cyber-attack on critical infrastructure in the United States.

Is Canada concerned about this? Are we prepared for something like that?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

We're always very concerned about any cyber threats, particularly coming from Russia. It is important that we be resilient to any form of cyber threat.

At the same time, I must say that the United States strategy to declassify information and intelligence has been quite helpful. It has helped make sure that we inform our different populations across the west regarding what is going on in Ukraine and Russia's intent. It has also been useful to make sure that Europeans and North Americans are on the same page in reading what is going on. Finally, I think it has been a way to delay, to a certain extent, the conflict. Meanwhile, for Ukrainians, it has given them time to be ready to organize themselves, and that's true for us as well.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sven Spengemann]

Mr. Morantz, thank you, and thank you, Minister.

Our final intervention for this round goes to Mr. Sarai. Please go ahead for five minutes.