Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 2nd, 2022

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Thanks, Ambassador, for being here today.

I have a quick question. Haiti has one border, one neighbour, and is surrounded by water. We have gangs on the street, killing people and causing unrest. I know that you've alluded to the economic situation being one big factor in what's happening in the country, but who is helping or supporting these gangs? Who is backing them with weapons? They must be getting some support from outside.

If you can advise us on this, that would be great.

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

The Haitian police, like the American police, have made many arrests. It has to be acknowledged that bad-faith Haitians have unfortunately attracted many of these men to Haiti.

As you know, that's not just a Haitian problem; it's a problem throughout the Caribbean. The ease with which people can find weapons, particularly in the United States, which is a well-known fact, has consequences for us in Haiti. It's turning into a business. People buy a weapon in the United States and resell it for 10 times the price in Haiti, and that's not including the weapons that come from bandits, smugglers and other groups operating in the region.

It's a bit complicated. There must be sanctions, and we have to find the people who are exporting weapons to Haiti, weapons that kill and that assist in the commission of crimes in Haiti.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

How successful has the government been in at least identifying those people so they can be traced and then held accountable, at least to somehow minimize their effect? It may not be the end of the story, but at least it could put some control over the situation.

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

I don't have the police reports on exactly who's involved or what investigation has been conducted, but I do know we have names and have made arrests. The gangs are known. The police just have to do their job. First, they have to arrest them and interrogate them to determine who's responsible. That's not an easy task because the problem would already be solved if it were, but it isn't particularly hard.

At my level, I don't have a list of all those individuals involved in this situation in Haiti.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Aboultaif.

Our last question goes to Mr. Dubourg. You have three minutes, sir.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Thank you so much, Chair.

Mr. Ambassador, like you, I sincerely hope that Haiti is restored to the cherished Haiti we once knew. Although I left Haiti when I was 15 there is old, I follow the situation very closely.

I have two questions for you.

First, Prime Minister Henry's request does not include a timeframe. Do you have one in mind?

Second, we often hear talk of a solution managed by Haitians. People say there are oil and mineral ores in Haiti and that's why countries are lining up to get in.

What can you tell us about the resources that are concealed in the ground in Haiti.

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

That's frankly beyond my field of expertise. Consequently, I can't really answer the question, but I laugh every time someone tells me there are hidden resources in Haiti.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Ambassador, the prime minister's request is dated October 6. That's almost one month ago.

Are you afraid that other criminal groups, domestic or foreign, may take control of the Palais national and plunge the country into an even worse situation than the one it's in today? Would that be possible?

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

It's really hard to say. That would be the worst possible scenario. However, we're already in a fairly complicated and disastrous situation. I hope with all my heart the situation doesn't come to that, but what we're experiencing today is already dire.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I have a final question for you, Mr. Ambassador.

You've been here for a while, and you know that we have a system here for elections, Elections Canada. In a democratic country, people would like there to be elections. We're talking about an intervention.

What is the electoral system in Haiti? Is a system in place? How does it work?

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

A system is in place, and it's so complicated we would need an entire meeting to explore it. It's a system under which elections are held at least every two years. We have to replace the senators, who serve for terms of six years. The deputies serve for four-year terms, the mayors the same, and the president serves for a term of five years. Elections should be held every year in our country.

To date, the diaspora, as strong and large as it is, unfortunately doesn't take part in the electoral process. Haitians living abroad may not vote or support candidates. That's what I can tell you briefly about the process to show you how complicated it is.

Talking about Canada, I'd like to add something that I've often told my colleagues. I've been here for exactly two years, and I've seen that there's a Canadian way of doing things. I've seen the discipline, the dialogue and the search for consensus, even though that isn't always easy in politics.

Canada won't abandon Haiti and, with or without intervention, will remain a good partner. Regardless of the solution that Canada anticipates for Haiti, I'd like it to employ that Canadian way of doing things in the way it operates with Haiti.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

As you know, Mr. Ambassador, the Prime Minister often says, "Avè nou map mache," when he speaks to Haitians. Canada stands with the Haitian people.

Thank you for your excellent remarks, Mr. Ambassador.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Mr. Dubourg.

Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Yes, go ahead on a point of order.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

I believe there's going to be a brief break to prepare for the next session. Perhaps we could take a picture with His Excellency as a way of showing our support.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Absolutely. That's a very good point to raise. Should the ambassador have no objections, we will certainly do so.

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

It would be a pleasure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador.

Thank you also to Mr. Aristild and Mr. Numa. Your testimony was very helpful.

As I'm sure you could tell, all of our members are very much interested in focusing on the path forward. We recognize how important it is, how imperative it is, that stability return to Haiti, and as our member said, hopefully we will see a period very soon where we can refer to Haiti as “Haïti chérie” and we can work towards the reconstruction of Haiti.

Please, when we do send you the questions, we'd be grateful if you could kindly answer those inquiries and send them back so they are reflected in the study we're doing in this committee.

Thank you.

We will now suspend for a few minutes to have an opportunity to take a picture with the ambassador, and then return to resume our study on extreme flooding in Pakistan.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Welcome back, everyone.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, the committee resumes its study of the extreme flooding in Pakistan.

It is now my pleasure to welcome our two witnesses. First, from the International Development and Relief Foundation, we have Ms. Zeina Osman, the director of giving and impact. Second, we have a witness from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It's a great pleasure to welcome back Ms. Rema Jamous Imseis, the representative of the UNHCR in Canada.

You will each be provided five minutes for your opening remarks, after which we will open it to questions by the members.

Ms. Osman, please do proceed.

[Zeina Osman, Director, Giving and Impact, International Development and Relief Foundation]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to begin by thanking the committee for allocating some time to talk about the devastating humanitarian crisis unfolding in Pakistan.

I'm sure at this point we're all aware of the magnitude of this climate-induced disaster, and subsequently Canada's role in providing aid to the people of Pakistan.

Since 1984, the International Development and Relief Foundation has provided effective humanitarian aid and sustainable development programs through human dignity, self-reliance and social justice principles. A Charity Intelligence top 100 charity, IDRF works in a localization model whereby the majority of our international work is done through reputable local partners to reach the most vulnerable, most efficiently.

We all know that Pakistan is largely being affected by climate change, but they're not largely responsible for it. As we continue to see more and more extreme weather events around the world like this one, it's a little outrageous that climate action is still being put on the back burner as global emissions of greenhouse gases are still rising, putting all of us everywhere in growing danger. The funding Canada has provided in climate financing is not adequate for these kinds of events that are happening more frequently and with rapidly increasing severity. Will Canada wait until these devastations are at our doorstep before we put together a serious plan of action?

At the end of August, we wrote an open letter calling on the Government of Canada as a key ally in support of our humanitarian response in Pakistan, where some 30 million people had been impacted by these destructive floods. In line with the humanitarian principle of “do no harm”, we felt it was necessary to have the Government of Canada provide support to organizations outside of just a few selected humanitarian members of a coalition. Equally important is the commitment to have the greatest impact by providing assistance to the many international organizations that have a strong footprint already in Pakistan.

In this open letter, we not only detailed our 30-year-long history of working in the region as an international organization but also highlighted our work in the 2010 Pakistan flood relief, where we constructed over 1,000 homes, operated maternal health clinics where pregnant women were allocated health benefits and built over 1,000 hand pumps to supply fresh water. This was really to outline our strength in this type of disaster relief.

Along with many of our peers in the humanitarian space, we invited the government to reconsider its policy of distributing Canadian matching funds through a handful of organizations, as it would directly impact the ability for us to help the most people, and still we were left disappointed. Thankfully, our community of supporters rallied behind us, and we were able to raise $3 million to support the people of Pakistan—a true testament to the reputation and integrity of both our organization and its supporters.

The 2010 floods took about three years in recovery, and it's expected that the recovery from the 2022 floods is going to take more time, since the damages are already climbing up to $10 billion. Coupled with economic instability and inflation, recovery will be even more challenging without adequate funding for these communities. Similar to 2010, we are asking that the government establish a Pakistan relief fund in support of continued humanitarian response to provide both immediate and long-term rehabilitation.

IDRF is uniquely positioned to be able to access communities through our local network of partners and a robust network of community-based organizations. A key success to our work is our localization model. It's important that IDRF ensures our projects and programming are relevant, context-specific and culturally appropriate. We customize our response to the needs of each community.

I'll leave it at that, and I look forward to a thorough discussion.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Ms. Osman.

We now go to Ms. Jamous Imseis.

Welcome. You have five minutes.

[Rema Jamous Imseis, Representative to Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.

Allow me to take a moment just to set the scene so that we're all working from the same information as we commence this important session.

Since June of this year, torrential rains and flash flooding have led to an unprecedented climate disaster in Pakistan, impacting the lives of more than 33 million people. Thousands have been killed and injured, and infrastructure across the country, including houses, roads, bridges, health facilities and schools, has been damaged or destroyed. Widespread damage to agricultural lands and the death of livestock have had a massive impact on sources of food and livelihoods for many, pushing millions deeper into poverty.

The flooding has also impeded access to isolated communities, making it difficult for them to find safety and harder for humanitarian actors to reach them with much-needed aid. Close to eight million people have been forced to flee their homes, with many seeking shelter in relief sites. While the worst of the floods have receded, conditions in the hardest-hit areas where stagnant water remains are deeply concerning. The risk of waterborne diseases threatens millions of people, the majority of whom are women and children. Already we've seen cases of malaria, dengue fever and cholera on the rise.

Here it is important to recall that in addition to the Pakistanis who have seen their lives devastated by the floods, the country and its people have generously hosted Afghan refugees for over four decades. Over half of the districts declared as calamity-hit by the government host an estimated 800,000 Afghan refugees. Pre-existing inequalities exacerbated by the flooding, including gender-based violence and child protection risks, have increased protection concerns. As winter quickly approaches, the millions displaced are in need of urgent assistance to prepare for harsh weather conditions, especially with their ability to cope having already been eroded by soaring inflation and rising food prices even before the rains.

Since the onset of the emergency, my organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, together with local and international humanitarian actors, has been supporting the response led by the government in affected areas with a high concentration of refugees. We've delivered thousands of metric tons of relief supplies, including tents, sleeping mats, blankets, solar-powered lanterns, kitchen sets, mosquito nets and dignity kits from our stocks in the country and regional warehouses in the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, dispatching over 300 trucks and 23 airlifts. We've also provided cash assistance to the most vulnerable families who have exhausted all other coping mechanisms.

Given the colossal scale of the needs, the UN and its humanitarian partners have issued a funding appeal calling on the international community to support the relief efforts. Likewise, my agency has appealed for further financial support to address the mounting needs in areas with high populations of refugees. These appeals are to assist us in meeting immediate life-saving needs and also in making early recovery efforts, such as repairs to homes, health facilities, and schools, as well as to water, sanitation and hygiene systems.

Beyond these immediate needs and with Pakistan on the front lines of the climate emergency, the response plans incorporate prevention and preparedness measures to avert and minimize the effects of extreme weather events in the future and to help build resilience, particularly among the most vulnerable communities, including refugees. Unpredictable weather is likely to further worsen conditions, so investing in sustainable, durable housing and community infrastructure will be key to enhancing preparedness and resilience in future disasters.

Since similar rainfall may reoccur in the future, the shelter program will need to adapt building materials to ensure that homes can withstand the rains better than could the mud brick structures that have proven vulnerable in this emergency. This program must also include an expansion of livelihood programs linking climate-smart reconstruction and rehabilitation to the creation of green jobs and an emphasis on the environment.

The country and people of Pakistan have so generously welcomed Afghan refugees for over 40 years. We urge all countries, including Canada, to stand in solidarity with Pakistan and with refugee-hosting communities across the country to rebuild their lives while mitigating against future climate shocks.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much.

We now go to questions from the members. For the first round, we have four minutes each.

Mr. Genuis, you are first.