Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 14th, 2023

[Richard Morgan]

Yes. Thank you for the question.

The challenge is that, when you've made commitments in advance to a multi-year program, you have already identified where you want to respond and what interventions in particular you want to pursue. You make commitments. You source. You procure. Then an earthquake hits. You've already spent some of the money. Now you have to pivot quickly, even where you have available funds, to respond.

I think the point is that the needs in a context like Syria particularly, where you've already had 12 years of civil war, where you already have 4.1 million people needing aid, where you have successive UN requests, underfunded significantly, there's nowhere near enough in terms of using previous commitments to respond to the new challenges. I think the scope and scale are beyond what many expected, and we need to do more.

Thank you for that preoccupation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much.

We go now to the second round of questions. This round will again consist of three minutes.

We go first to MP Genuis.

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

Thank you, Chair.

I know that as opposition politicians, it's easier for us to be tough on the government than it is for stakeholders who apply to the government for funding.

Mr. Morgan, let me ask you this. We raise these issues repeatedly about inclusive matching programs. I'm wondering what you think the barrier or the problem is in terms of the government just saying, “Sure. We'll include as many people as possible.”

You've made strong arguments today. Presumably, you've made those arguments to members of the government. What do you think the problem is in terms of actually doing this in an inclusive way?

[Richard Morgan]

It's an important question. Thank you.

I'd say there are a few factors. One is the timeliness of decision-making. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, I think the government was trying to move as quickly as it could and had well-established mechanisms already with the Red Cross. It was easy to respond through the Red Cross. The Red Cross is doing important work, and we support that.

I think the challenge we feel is that the deeply local capacity of our members is underappreciated by Global Affairs. We believe it is actually a resource that the government should be tapping into.

I appreciate that question. We think we can bring more as a value-added partner to the government. In fact, I would add that there are many places where the Red Cross is not able to access and where many of our members are able to deliver. Again, that local capacity in all regions of Syria is a good example of that.

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

Thank you for that.

Mr. Khan, you mentioned the situation in Syria in general, with a civil war over 10 years, requiring our continuing attention. I'm tight for time here, but I'm wondering if you, and then perhaps CNEWA, have any reflections on what we need to be doing in response to the 10-year-long situation in terms of the civil war and what our political response to that should be.

[Usama Khan]

I think the first thing is just recognizing what people there have gone through and looking at this issue from the eyes of that four- or five-year-old child, who is now 12 or 14, and has seen nothing but war and air strikes and displacement.

I think for Canadians to understand the crisis.... I get it. It's politically complex. In some ways it's a proxy war among global superpowers and global actors, and there's no easy solution. I think it's about understanding all the factors at play, making sure we use all of our relationships as a government and using the soft power of Canada in international diplomacy to keep the focus on trying to resolve it in a way so that all Syrians are included in the political process and ultimately have stability and prosperity in the country.

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

Does anyone else want to weigh in on that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

We're over three minutes. Thank you.

We will next go to MP Sorbara. You have three minutes.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Welcome, everyone.

First, thank you to all the organizations that have come here for the work that you do on the ground, not only in this part of the world but in many other parts of the world as well.

The riding that I'm privileged to represent has a very large Turkish population, also members of Kurdish heritage, to the extent that if I go to my local park with my daughters, I'll hear the Turkish language being spoken quite frequently. There are a number of restaurants and cafés run by individuals.

I first want to start by expressing my condolences, because I know many members of my community, especially of Kurdish heritage, have lost members back home. I've spoken with many of them. They've lost a lot, not just property but loved ones as well. My heart goes out to them.

In terms of the short-term needs of the population, if we can divide it between the impacted areas in Turkey and the impacted areas in Syria, what more can we be doing on the ground that we are not doing at this moment in time?

The federal government has made commitments. We are there. I was thanked by the Turkish ambassador here in Canada when I went to see him last week. What further can we be doing to assist that would make a tangible difference?

Perhaps I could start off with Oxfam Canada, then go to Catholic Near East, then to Islamic Relief and then finish up with Mr. Morgan, if he can answer quickly. Thank you.

[André Charlebois]

I apologize, but could you please clarify your question?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Morgan, can you commence, please?

[Richard Morgan]

Of course. I will then pass the floor to Mr. Charlebois.

The point we would be emphasizing is the multiple phases of emergency.

As Usama pointed out, in the first instance, mobilizing heavy machinery to be able to move debris was very challenging and remains challenging. What's heart-wrenching for all of us is that the window is shrinking fast. I think we're moving tragically from a point of rescuing people in rubble to rescuing bodies. That's heartbreaking.

Once you've managed to get as many people as possible out of the rubble, then you absolutely need to shelter, feed and care for these people. This is not only going to be a matter of weeks. It's going to be a matter of months. So many buildings are compromised on both sides of the border: in terms of Syria from previous hostilities, and in the case of Turkey from challenges in terms of building codes and other issues. So many buildings are unsafe. It's not habitable for people to be in such proximity for such extended periods. Shelter is going to be a huge issue.

Then, people have experienced psychosocial trauma and need support. The children have gone through something that's unimaginable for the vast majority of us, and they'll need support. Then, of course, there's the long-term recovery of livelihoods.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Mr. Morgan.

We next go to MP Bergeron.

You have a minute and a half, Mr. Bergeron.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think that one of our concerns, especially for me, is that, although Turkey has been greatly affected by the earthquakes, it still has infrastructure that allows it to respond to the situation to some extent.

Syria is different in the sense that there is no longer a civil authority in much of the country. There was a civil war. There are sanctions, which no one here is suggesting be lifted. It is the same with Afghanistan: Some of the parameters of Canada's regulatory and legislative framework undermine operations on the ground.

What would you like to see us do to ensure that aid is much more effective on the ground, particularly in Syria?

[Richard Morgan]

To whom are you addressing the question, Mr. Bergeron?

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

It is for whomever wishes to respond.

[Usama Khan]

Sure. I can take a stab at it first.

One of the factors, as Richard mentioned, is that the access for the Red Cross equivalent, which is the Red Crescent, is in Damascus-controlled regions. Multiple witnesses mentioned the displacement in northwest Syria, and, really, the need that's in northwest Syria around Idlib and Aleppo should be a focus of the government.

The other point I'd like to mention is that historically we've seen in crises and responses from the Canadian government, but also from governments around the world, the split between multilateral agencies like the UN bodies and civil society actors like Oxfam, Islamic Relief and the other members of the Humanitarian Coalition and other Canadian charities. I think it's important for the committee, for the government, to recognize effectiveness, recognize the speed of delivery and tilt the balance towards more of the NGOs. That should be of consideration as well.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

For the last question, we go to MP McPherson.

You have a minute and a half.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Again, thank you for your testimony. I don't have very much time. I'll ask Mr. Khan.

Perhaps you could continue on that thought. What does your organization and other organizations require to meet the needs in Syria for the short- and long-term recovery? Just give your final thoughts on that as we have a very short amount of time.

[Usama Khan]

Thank you for the question.

I think the analogy of giving people fish and teaching them how to fish applies. There are absolutely urgent needs in terms of search and rescue, in terms of providing tents. Last night it was -5°C in the region. Lots of people are being forced to sleep in cars. Tents, blankets, food and non-food items, these are the urgent needs in Turkey, but very much so in Syria because of all the points mentioned.

For this crisis, the needs will not go away in a week, in months or even years, so there has to be a long-term commitment from countries like Canada to make sure that we can ensure safeguarding, we can ensure health care facilities and infrastructure, we can rebuild public infrastructure and roads, and we can ensure there are long-term safe dwellings for families.

For our teams and other organizations, I think it's going to take all of us together to do this, and it's going to take a commitment for many years.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much for that.

It is now one o'clock. I just wanted to thank all of our witnesses—Monsignor Vaccari, Ms. Bara, Monsieur Charlebois, Mr. Khan and Mr. Morgan. Thank you ever so much for your expertise and your perspective today, but also thank you for everything you've been doing for many years. Obviously, given the terrible devastation and the scope of what we have seen in Turkey and in Syria, we are very grateful for all your efforts.

Thank you for making our world a better place.