Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 26th, 2022

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

You have 10 seconds, Mr. Bergeron.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

I'm going to come back to Mr. Genuis's first question.

I would just like to know how it was decided what matching funds the Canadian government was prepared to pay in connection with the money paid by Canadians from August 1 to September 28, 2022.

Why was the cut-off September 28, 2022?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Could I ask you to respond in less than 15 seconds, please?

[Tara Carney]

The matching funds time period was determined in consultation with partners. It was backdated to what was effectively the onset of the calamity portion of the monsoon rain season, the goal being that we always try to do matching funds within a period that allows for that really active engagement with Canadians to mobilize their funding.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Ms. Carney. I'm very grateful.

We now go to Ms. McPherson.

You have two minutes, Ms. McPherson.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you very much.

I'd like to follow up on one of the comments you made, Mr. Gibbins, on the aid that has been delivered to Pakistan and the lens of the feminist international assistance policy being used. How is that being done? How are you ensuring that it's happening? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that there is some accountability for that?

[Christopher Gibbins]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Any agreement we have with any implementing partner is very rigorously drawn out and negotiated in many respects. It always includes those kinds of gender qualifications, among others. Built into that are also strong monitoring mechanisms, whether that be our development team on the ground, who go regularly to sites and interact with the implementers, or very often audits that are undertaken. Before the final disbursement is made, it's confirming that all of those indicators are met, whether they're gender, financial or otherwise.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you.

I have one last question, just very quickly, going back to a question that was asked earlier. We know that Pakistan is dealing with enormous debt and has an enormous debt burden. Would it not be useful for Canada to also play a role in helping to alleviate that debt burden? It is one thing to give funds for humanitarian assistance, but in the long term, in terms of building the country up so they're able to withstand future disasters and ensuring that they actually have the funds available to do that, debt relief is a key role.

What role is Canada playing and what role can Canada play?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

Mr. Chair, on this question, I think it would be difficult for us to go beyond the remit of the department. We're working within the lanes of the policy that is established. We might be providing advice on policy, but I think it would be going beyond my remit to comment on things that we should be doing in the future. Perhaps the minister would be better placed to comment on this question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you for that.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I will ask the minister.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

We now go back to Mr. Hoback.

Mr. Hoback, you have four minutes.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

Going down that same line, you're saying it's a policy decision on whether we want to intervene at the IMF and what they put in for conditions. I know that the Arab countries have basically restructured debt repayments differently. They've given them a break so they can use that money internally. Is that something Canada would consider? Or would that be considered a policy question for the minister?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I will just stick to the facts on this one. I'm not aware of any discussions of Canada considering restructuring debt repayments to the IMF, this large multilateral organization. I think it's something that would have to be considered very carefully with a lot of like-minded nations. It's not something that Canada would be considering doing alone.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Okay.

You mentioned that Minister Sajjan went in September to the region with some other Liberal MPs. Was that paid for by the department?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

The minister, as far as I am aware, has a budget for travel, being international development minister, and was working within the allocations that are provided to the international development minister, along with his portfolio, to engage with partners and in situations around the world.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Again, I don't mean to put you on the spot, but in a scenario like this, why weren't members of the opposition included in a delegation with the minister? Why was it only Liberal members? Do you know?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I'm afraid those questions are not ones that I am able to answer.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

That's fair enough.

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I don't think the decision about which members were included in the minister's delegation is one on which Global Affairs provided advice.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Okay. For us in the opposition, it would have really helped us question you if we had been on the ground like some members of the Liberal Party were. I feel disadvantaged in that scenario.

Looking forward, we're going to see starvation. We're going to see hunger. We also have to look at the situation. We're going to have to help their agriculture sector. Canada is very good at doing that. What would be done at this point in time within Global Affairs to start putting in place Canadian expertise and Canadian groups to go and assist them in rebuilding their agriculture sector?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

Mr. Chair, it is great to look forward and to think about rebuilding. It's a very important aspect of the overall response. I'm certain that going forward we will have opportunities to assist in ways that are practical and take advantage of the know-how and the expertise that Canada has. This is something we are actively engaging in, especially through our high commission and the staff on the ground, who have an opportunity to engage on a day-to-day basis with officials, civil society and everyone in Pakistan to determine what the needs are. They're quite focused on reaching back to Canada for that kind of assistance.

We will certainly be supportive going forward to encourage these kinds of very practical linkages and partnerships to address this situation.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

So there are no formal examples of things in place, and it's still too early.

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I will just say that I think until we understand the overall needs.... It's difficult to say that we have programs. It's quite soon to talk about specific programs to address this when we're still assessing the scale of the damage. The immediate response has really been focused on those situations that are the most dire, rather than on choosing new programs.