Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 31st, 2022

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Sure, absolutely.

I'll just explain the previous questions regarding the additional funding. In fact, one key thing for me is making sure of where the needs actually are.

We've provided the initial emergency funding and then, once the needs assessment is done, we'll provide more. We'll start looking at how we get into the climate adaptation and prevention stage. More funding will be coming, and we'll make sure that the members know about it.

In terms of where things have gone, I'll give you examples, if you don't mind, of a few areas. A key area that we wanted to focus on was the immediate need when it comes to shelter. We wanted to put funding directly into preventing waterborne diseases.

In fact, the point I was trying to get to was on the national emergency centre in Pakistan. The polio teams they have are already best suited for that, because they are already going out. They are made up of women. Because they had to focus on looking after their families, we're providing care funding for them so they can go out and continue their work. They have now been transformed into health teams. We're helping to fund them.

Does anyone have the list of what exactly we're providing? I can get that to you afterwards, if you like.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

That would be great.

Also, did Pakistan or Canada identify areas that Canada can help in the future to mitigate flood-related damages? This seems to be something that may happen again and again due to climate change.

Where can we help, infrastructure-wise, with civil engineering, placement of people, construction methods, etc.? Have they brought up that, and are there places where Canada has identified that they can provide assistance?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Not only have they raised it, I raised it myself. We will be providing support. However, we can't get into that just yet, because we don't know what the exact needs will be.

One other thing we're looking at almost immediately is that the water in the south right now has no place to go. We're trying to figure out the engineering solution on how to get the water flowing. The rivers were already flowing, so it can't go anywhere; plus, the ground is completely saturated.

Those are the areas we're looking at. Once we have a better assessment, we'll have a better idea of what we'll do in the long term.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Minister.

Now we go to Mr. Bergeron.

Mr. Bergeron, you have two and half minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

On October 28, the United Nations Development Program, the UNDP, published an assessment of Pakistan's damage, losses and needs as a result of the floods, estimating the total damage at over $14.9 billion U.S. The total economic losses come to about $15.2 billion U.S., and the estimated needs for rehabilitation and reconstruction are at least $16.3 billion U.S. My first question is this.

Minister, do you think the amounts promised at the international level will meet the needs the country has as a result of the floods?

Having been the minister of public safety in Quebec, I think I know that Quebec and the provinces can be useful when it comes to the needs that have been determined when it comes to strengthening risk mapping, surveillance and early warning systems, and integrating disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management and climate resilience into planning process systems and assessment system upgrading systems.

My second question is very simple. Did you ask Quebec and the provinces to contribute to Canada's effort to come to the aid of Pakistan?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

To answer the question very directly on whether the international community currently will meet the needs, the answer is no. What I'm hoping to do, and also with the work that your committee is doing, is highlight what the actual needs currently are. The needs are great.

We've been there providing probably greater proportional funding support. We will do more. I'm happy to work with any province that would want to make a connection to work with us directly in providing that support. I think it's going to be needed. I think every province has a unique experience to offer.

I appreciate the offer. I would love to be able to follow up on it.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Chair, do I have any time left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

You have 20 seconds left, Mr. Bergeron.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Right.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, commented that Pakistanis had become climate refugees in their own country. Observers are stressing the role played by climate change in the flooding in Pakistan. We are used to talking about climate refugees, people who have to leave their country because of climate change. We are dealing with a unique category.

What do you say about the statement by the Prime Minister of Pakistan?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Well, indeed climate change is real, and if we don't do something in our own countries, it's going to be the most vulnerable around the world who are going to suffer, so we need to do something about it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Minister.

We now go to Ms. McPherson. You have two and a half minutes, Ms. McPherson.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to follow up on the questions that Mr. Bergeron was just asking. We do know that Pakistan has contributed just a fraction of the greenhouse gases that impact climate change, and yet it is having to wear the challenges of climate change. We do know that the climate funding we have put forward is part, now, of our ODA.

Minister, do you believe that Canada's ODA should be increased?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, as you know, our government committed to showing growth within our ODA budget. You've seen that already.

One thing we're doing is making sure that we continue to make every effort so that it's in line with our feminist international assistance policy. We're seeing a direct impact on the ground.

One example, which I was trying to talk about earlier, is that because we always make our policy by looking to women, we're actually having a greater impact on the ground in supporting the most vulnerable through those polio vaccination teams that are made up of women. Providing support for them so their families can be looked after means now—

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Minister. I don't have very much time. I'm so sorry.

In terms of ODA, how are you advocating for those increases? As you know, right now Canada is at about 0.3%. We had promised to get to 0.7%. We have never gotten to 0.7%. In fact, right now at 0.3% we're well below what many similar democracies in the world are doing. I'm wondering how you're advocating. What are you, as Minister for International Development, doing to advocate for more ODA for Canadian organizations?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, I can assure the member that I'm advocating extremely strongly among my own colleagues.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

How?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

I'm not going to get into the exact details of how I speak with my colleagues, but I welcome the support from the member and any others as well. Thank you.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much.

We now go to Mr. Genuis.

You have two and a half minutes.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

I want to get this in, Minister. According to a report in the Associated Press, UN operations in Syria have dealt heavily with regime-affiliated human rights abusers. The report suggests that almost half of the procurement contracts involve companies involved in or profiting from human rights abuses.

Incredibly to me, about one-quarter of contracts went to companies owned or partially owned by individuals directly sanctioned by us or our allies. We have a situation where, on the one hand, our development assistance has stringent conditions associated with it for Canadian organization, which limit our ability to do good work in the context of Afghanistan, as we've talked about, but at the same time, we're giving money to the UN and other multilateral organizations with serious corruption problems, and also they are doing business, procuring goods, from one of the world's most heinous regimes and its enablers.

We need to put a stop to this. I want to ask this specifically: Will you commit to withdrawing funds from organizations, UN-affiliated or otherwise, that don't have acceptable human rights standards? How will you seek to challenge these kinds of procurement practices in the context of Pakistan and in other contexts, to make sure we are no longer, through our contributions to the UN, giving money to people we're supposed to be sanctioning?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Chair, do you want me to take questions that are not related to Pakistan? I'm happy to—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

It is related.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Yes, please.

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

I don't think it is related to Pakistan, but I'm happy to.

First of all—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Let me just clarify—