Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 5th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I guess there's no debate.

(Motion agreed to: yeas 9; nays 2)

Thank you.

The motion to adjourn debate is adopted.

Now we go to Madam McPherson.

You have five minutes and 30 seconds.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. I apologize if we had you waiting for a little while.

We know that like many parts of the world, people in Latin America and the Caribbean face widespread human rights abuses, including gender-based violence and attacks on environmental and human rights defenders. Canada's feminist international assistance policy emphasizes human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Could you elaborate on how Canada ensures that its assistance programming prioritizes and addresses systematic human rights challenges, especially in the context of authoritarian regimes and conflict-affected regions?

[Sylvie Bédard]

Yes, protection of human rights is being challenged in many parts of the Americas, and that's very worrying.

Let's look at the latest statistics from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. At least 126 human rights defenders were killed in 2024, including a large number of indigenous representatives. This situation is very concerning to us, and we're very committed to addressing it.

One of Canada's top priorities for international assistance in the Americas is promoting and protecting human rights. That includes programs to engage with indigenous peoples. Here are some examples of what we are doing in the Americas region.

Canada implemented a project called Voices at Risk, which gives Canadian diplomats engaged in the region very practical advice on how they can effectively support and protect human rights defenders. These diplomats also provide support to human rights and women's rights organizations by securing multi-year funding for them so they can build capacity. Through this program, we are contributing $5 million to organizations in Peru. We provide similar funding to organizations in Honduras, Colombia, Guatemala and Haiti.

Another example of our work is what our diplomats do in our missions abroad. They may participate in trials of certain human rights defenders, as they did recently for a Salvadoran group of environmental and water defenders called the Santa Marta 5. As part of that trial, our embassy representatives appeared in court to demonstrate that the international community was monitoring the arguments closely and to make sure the legal proceedings were fair and transparent.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Chair, how much time do I have left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

You have two minutes remaining.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you.

One concern I have with regard to that particular example is that we have heard from human rights defenders around Latin America and the region that Canada has in fact not been there when they needed them to defend human rights defenders, as per the legislation that we have. I do have some concerns about that.

I've spent some time in Nicaragua and other countries. One of my concerns is that we have trade relationships that we often prioritize over human rights, from my perspective.

We know that there are significant trade relationships with several Latin American countries. We have seen instances of the promotion of Canadian extractive industries or other trade priorities conflicting with human rights or environmental protections. For example, MiningWatch and Amazon Watch have documented concerns raised by indigenous communities regarding Canadian companies' conduct in the Amazon. I myself was in a small community in Nicaragua where “Go Home Canada” was spray-painted on the fence because a Canadian mining company had poisoned the aquifer and made the community very, very ill.

How is this government ensuring that trade priorities, particularly in the extractive sector, do not override the protection of human rights? What concrete actions are being taken to make sure that you are addressing these ongoing concerns, particularly knowing that the CORE ombudsperson was never given the powers to compel testimony or witnesses, as was promised by the government initially?

[Sylvie Bédard]

I'll answer your question as quickly as I can.

The strategy for responsible business conduct abroad includes a number of preventive measures over and above legislation that addresses matters such as corruption, transparency, forced labour, child labour and access to non-judicial dispute resolution mechanisms. Two examples are Canada's national contact point and the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise.

We expect all actors involved in natural resource development to respect relevant local laws and human rights and to commit to sharing factual information in an accessible and transparent manner.

Through our representatives abroad, we make it very clear to Canadian businesses that we expect them to adopt best practices and guidelines that meet the highest international standards, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.

We are also working very hard to strengthen the legislative and regulatory framework in certain countries to ensure that all stakeholders—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Madame Bédard, I'm sorry. We're 30 seconds over.

Thank you very much for that.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Now we go to Mr. Aboultaif.

You have five minutes, sir.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses for appearing before the committee this afternoon.

How do you describe Canada's relationship to the Caribbean and South and Central America?

[Sylvie Bédard]

I'll start with the Caribbean region. Canada and the Caribbean Community, known as CARICOM, have shared economic interests and values, such as our commitment to democracy and human rights. As a region, the Caribbean is impressive because of its democratic development and the strength of its institutions, including legal institutions and the rule of law.

In addition, more than two million Canadians travel to the Caribbean every year, and there is a large Caribbean diaspora here in Canada. These factors prompted us to establish a strategic partnership with the Caribbean region last year. The partnership was confirmed at a summit involving Canadian leaders and CARICOM heads of state and government leaders. This strategic partnership engages us in a whole-of-government way at various levels to advance common interests.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you. I expected a shorter answer, but thanks.

China, within 25 years, has gone from $18 billion in business with this region in 2002 to $450 billion now. That's a growth of 2,500%. How have we done in Canada in the last 20 years if we cannot compare dollar to dollar on trade?

[Wendy Drukier]

Mr. Chair, we don't necessarily have the statistics for the last 20 years—

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Why not?

[Wendy Drukier]

I can provide definitely some statistics on—

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Yes, it would be nice if you can send us those figures.

Now, the focus of the Canadian policy.... By the way, is there a specific Canadian policy for this region or a strategy that you can brief us on?

[Wendy Drukier]

Mr. Chair, we don't have an explicit Americas strategy per se. Of course, we do have a strategic approach to the Americas. I'm just trying to find my notes, because I have that. We of course value our relationships in the hemisphere, and we have a strong focus there.

Our strategic priorities for the region include strengthening democracy; encouraging inclusive economic growth and sustainable development; supporting poverty eradication; promoting and defending human rights; supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation; improving regional security, including addressing the root causes of irregular migration and supporting safe and orderly migration; and increasing opportunities for marginalized groups, in particular women and girls and indigenous peoples.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Okay. With this approach, we see that the pink wave that took place in most of these countries is moving towards more regional regimes that are not democratic. They're moving more towards human rights abuse and things that basically don't line up with our values, so how can we call that the lead of our approach to the region when the region is going in the opposite direction? What are we doing wrong?

[Wendy Drukier]

Mr. Chair, obviously each country and the citizens of each country are free to choose their governments, and we have seen different types of government being elected in various countries.

Of course, as stated earlier, we are concerned with moves away from democracy and respect for human rights in a number of countries, and I think we've spoken about a couple of them already, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua. While we continue to program in order to support democracy and to support human rights and the rule of law, Canada certainly cannot decide the direction or the future of a government in another country.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

There are probably over a dozen ports that been taken over by the interests of China in the region. The latest is the $1.2-billion U.S. port in Peru. Is this any concern to Canada? Is China's expansion in the region any concern to our current government? What are we doing in opposition to that to make sure we counter it, since these countries are part of our continent?

[Wendy Drukier]

Mr. Chair, the member of course raises an important point about China's large and growing presence in the region. It's the region's second-largest trading partner behind the U.S., and for South America it's the largest trading partner. For many countries, China is seen as a valuable source of trade and investment, especially infrastructure investment, which is a significant need for the region.

Canada is working with partners to ensure China's activities in the region do not undermine efforts to promote transparency, sound fiscal management, environmental protection and the development of institutions that support democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Can you give one single example of the democratic efforts, please?

[Wendy Drukier]

On democratic efforts, we work to support democracy in a number of countries.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

I need the specifics, if you don't mind.