Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 14th, 2023

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Welcome to meeting number 50 of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of June 23, 2022. Members are attending in person in the room, as well as remotely using the Zoom application.

I'd like to make a few comments for the benefit of the members and the witnesses before we get started.

First of all, kindly wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mike and please mute yourself when you are not speaking. Interpretation for those on Zoom is at the bottom of your screen. You have the choice of floor, English or French.

Again, I'd just like to remind everyone to wait to be recognized by the chair before you speak.

In accordance with our routine motion—or the Bergeron motion, as I like to refer to it—I can assure all members that all witnesses have completed the required connection tests in advance of the meeting.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, February 9, 2023, the committee is holding a briefing on the humanitarian crisis following a series of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

It is now my pleasure to welcome, from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Mr. Stephen Salewicz, director general, international humanitarian assistance; Mr. Jess Dutton, director general, Middle East bureau; Ms. Tara Carney, director of the international humanitarian assistance operations, who is reappearing once again—thank you for that—and Mr. Andrew Turner, director, eastern Europe and Eurasia division.

Mr. Salewicz, you will be provided with five minutes for your remarks. After that, we will proceed to rounds of questioning. I will signal to you when you are 30 seconds short of the allotted time, and I would be grateful if you could wrap it up. The same goes for questions that are put to you by the members. Once we are approaching the allotted time, I will put this card up so that you have a good sense of timing.

Now I will—

Yes, Mr. Bergeron.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

With the consent of my colleagues, I move:

That the committee report to the House that it calls on the Azerbaijani authorities, in accordance with its obligations as a party to the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020, and following the appeal made by the Government of Canada on December 14, 2022, to reopen the Lachin Corridor and guarantee freedom of movement in order to avoid any deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Mr. Bergeron, for that.

You're moving it.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Did you hear what he said, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Yes, I was listening, but I was trying to—

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

If he could just repeat it, that would be great.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Mr. Bergeron, the members are asking that you repeat the motion you are moving.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

With pleasure, Mr. Chair. I move:

That the committee report to the House that it calls on the Azerbaijani authorities, in accordance with its obligations as a party to the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020, and following the appeal made by the Government of Canada on December 14, 2022, to reopen the Lachin Corridor and guarantee freedom of movement in order to avoid any deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Was that clear to all of the members? Excellent.

Yes, Mr. Oliphant.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the member, Mr. Bergeron, for bringing the motion.

On our side, we are supportive of the motion. I would have some concerns that we have not had a full hearing on the topic in this committee. Nonetheless, we are supportive of the motion and to be presenting that to the House. However, I would like to make an amendment to it. We request that the government provide a response within the usual 120 days. I think that would demand that the government pay attention to it and respond to it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Go ahead, Mr. Hoback.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Are you making an amendment, Mr. Oliphant?

We'll debate the amendment now. I'm okay with the amendment, if Mr. Bergeron is too.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I believe he is.

Is everyone okay with the amendment?

(Amendment agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

It's good to see there is unanimous agreement. I'm happy to hear that.

It's been adopted as well, Mr. Bergeron.

We will now resume with our witnesses. Thank you for appearing before us.

Mr. Salewicz, you will be provided five minutes for your opening remarks, after which the members will be asking questions. The floor is yours.

[Stephen Salewicz, Director General, International Humanitarian Assistance, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Thank you, Chair.

Good morning, committee members.

As of February 14, more than 37,000 deaths have been reported in Turkey and northwest Syria following two of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the region in more than 100 years. These earthquakes are historic in both their size and in the scale of their destruction.

I join the government and the people of Canada in extending our condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria, and to families and friends in mourning. I hope for a full recovery for the injured.

More than 6,000 buildings are reported to have been destroyed in Turkey and one million people have been forced from their homes. Across both countries, critical infrastructure, including hospitals, has been destroyed or damaged, which has only increased the needs and complicated efforts by first responders, who've been hard hit as well.

Some of the most severe damage occurred in major urban centres that serve as critical logistical hubs for the delivery of aid into northeast Syria. In northwest Syria, this disaster is only exacerbating the situation, which was already precarious due to conflicts, insecurity, an ongoing cholera epidemic, difficult winter conditions and major population displacements.

In both countries, the immediate destruction has been amplified by thousands of aftershocks causing further damage to buildings. This is forcing thousands to stay away from their homes, facing harsh winter conditions without shelter.

Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Joly expressed their condolences and support for Turkey immediately, as did countless numbers of Canadians.

Ankara is a long-standing partner of Canada, so when they requested our help, we responded. Last Tuesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs held a call with her Turkish counterpart, during which she expressed Canada's readiness to assist. Canada has since been coordinating closely with Turkish officials, including the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, which leads Turkey's response efforts. In his call with the Turkish ambassador last week, Minister Sajjan underlined Canada's commitment to coordinate our response with key international partners and the Government of Turkey.

Canada's diplomatic missions on the ground are actively engaged, as are our officials here in Ottawa. We're engaging regularly with the Turkish embassy to get the most recent requests for assistance and to facilitate the deployment of Canadian experts.

Our support has been swift and meaningful. Canada has invested in a responsive international humanitarian system. This support has contributed to the UN's standing capacity to rapidly respond to national disasters. It has facilitated the immediate deployment of two UN disaster assessment and coordination teams to the region to help with critical coordination efforts, and the release of $75 million in allocations from a variety of UN emergency funds to rapidly scale up operations.

Canada is already one of the largest contributors to the humanitarian response in Syria, having provided nearly $50 million in 2023 alone to the UN, Red Cross and NGO partners to respond to needs. This support has enabled partners on the ground to rapidly pivot their operations to respond to needs resulting from the earthquakes.

Since 2016, Canada has provided over $660 million in humanitarian assistance to Syria. In the the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Minister Sajjan announced $10 million in additional humanitarian assistance. This funding will be used to support emergency medical services and provide shelter, food and other essential items to crisis-affected populations across the region.

On February 8, it was further announced that Canada will match donations to the Canadian Red Cross earthquake appeal. Every donation made by individuals to the Canadian Red Cross between February 6 and February 22 will be matched, up to a maximum of $10 million. These funds will support the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in its response to the humanitarian needs caused by the earthquakes. Canada is also working with the Canadian Red Cross to deploy critical relief supplies that we have pre-positioned in warehouses in Dubai.

These initial allocations reflect a critical lesson learned from past disasters. Working with local actors and those already on the ground allows us to provide relief to those most in need as quickly and as effectively as possible.

In addition, we've also deployed a joint Global Affairs and Canadian Armed Forces assessment team to the field to identify additional opportunities for Canadian engagement.

Canada will continue to work closely with partners on the ground to assess needs and coordinate further support to ensure a needs-based humanitarian response to the crisis.

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Salewicz.

We will now turn to the members.

The first member is MP Redekopp.

The floor is yours for five minutes.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Thank you very much.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here.

Of course, all of us are horrified by this disaster. I'm sure all of us would agree we want to do what we can and really want to help people there.

My question is about the matching donations.

As you just said, you're matching the donations to the Red Cross up until the 22nd for relief efforts in Turkey and Syria. The Red Cross is a great organization, doing great things. The reality, though, is that many Canadians donate to organizations they're familiar with. For example, many newcomers donate to Islamic Relief and may not be as comfortable with the Red Cross. Others donate to World Vision, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Oxfam, etc.

Will the government expand the matching program to include organizations like Oxfam, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, World Vision, Islamic Relief and others?

[Stephen Salewicz]

As indicated, yes, we have partnered with the Canadian Red Cross and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The rationale behind that decision was that there is significant capacity on the ground already with the Red Cross. The Turkish Red Crescent, for instance, has 5,000 volunteers already responding to the crisis. We wanted to ensure that Canadian funds were injected immediately into the response of local actors to support their efforts.

I agree totally that there are very good Canadian partners that exist. We're partnering with them already. We have partnered with them for many years in Syria and will continue to do so. The lack of a match does not stop Canadians from contributing to those organizations. Indeed, the Canadian government will continue to partner with those organizations.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Partnering is one thing, but having the matching donations is a great incentive. There's another solution to this that's even simpler than that, and that is the Humanitarian Coalition, because, as you likely know, they bring together organizations like the Foodgrains Bank, World Vision, Islamic Relief, Lutheran World Relief, Save the Children and others. It's a great cross-section of our multicultural nation.

Would the government at least allow the Humanitarian Coalition to have matching donations?

[Stephen Salewicz]

Thank you, Chair.

Indeed, the Humanitarian Coalition is a great organization. We've partnered with them on matched funds in the past and their membership is critical to our response around the world. In this instance, we decided to go with the Canadian Red Cross, just as in the past we've decided just to go with the Humanitarian Coalition. Given the context, that was our approach. That's the approach we've taken.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Chair, I'll pass my time over to Dave Epp.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

I'm going to pick up on your last point. Is this a bit of trading back and forth? I'm aware that the Humanitarian Coalition, also through their members, has boots on the ground and has been pre-vetted as an organization that's worthy of matching. To the point in your opening statement, you talked about how Canada was already partnering with numerous other agreements with the Red Cross. The matching component is to leverage Canadian support. Again, as my colleague has stated, that support exists across a wider variety of organizations. I can get into Charity Intelligence's evaluations of them.

Can you talk to me about the vetting process or the decision-making process? Why is it only the Red Cross?

[Stephen Salewicz]

As I mentioned earlier, the rationale behind the decision was to focus on local partners who have local access and can scale up quickly. That was the rationale behind the decision.

I draw members' attention, through the chair, to the World Humanitarian Summit that was held in 2016, where Canada pledged with other nations to support local efforts and local actors. Indeed, through lessons learned after previous earthquakes, many evaluations over the years have demonstrated that local capacity is often bypassed in the face of these emergencies. What we decided to do was to support the local capacity that exists and is already in place, and that has Turkish nationals responding to the crisis. That's the decision we took. That doesn't suggest we don't support the Humanitarian Coalition. Indeed, we've supported them in many other contexts, and in other contexts we've matched their funding. We've made a different decision this time.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Were the Humanitarian Coalition's ground resources in the area considered at all?

[Stephen Salewicz]

Indeed. We have partnerships there already in northwest Syria. I won't go into specific partnerships for security reasons, but we do have partners, Canadian NGO partners, that are part of the Humanitarian Coalition on the ground. We give them significant resources, and we will continue to give them significant resources.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you.

We now turn to Mr. Zuberi for five minutes, please.