Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 29th, 2023

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I want to switch gears a little bit. I had the opportunity to negotiate tax treaties for Canada for more than 15 years and then to work at the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development, an international organization.

Dr. Welsh, in reading the Global Affairs Canada discussion paper on the future of diplomacy, I noticed three things that I think are very important.

First, some federal organizations have also developed an important network within the diplomatic system. How can Global Affairs Canada use those synergies that are developed by other federal organizations?

In addition, how can we ensure that the people in place are able to seize the opportunities so that Canada is well positioned in the digital and green global economy of tomorrow? How can we ensure that they are sensitive to these issues and that they work in partnership with all the other federal organizations?

Finally, I think increasing Canada's presence in multilateral fora is a key element. As we can see, multinational companies no longer know any borders. So it's important to really pool efforts within the economic blocs.

What do you think of those three points?

[Dr. Jennifer Welsh]

Thank you very much.

Let me try to answer very briefly.

[Technical difficulty—Editor]

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I hope she can reconnect.

MP Chatel, do you want to ask anyone else a question?

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

I'd like to ask Mr. Chapnick the same question.

[Adam Chapnick]

Thank you.

I'm sorry to Professor Welsh that I'm stealing her thunder and her time.

This ties back into a previous question from a member.

I don't think it is time for a foreign policy review. I think that foreign policy reviews are necessary only when different elements of that department are speaking to one another, because the results of the review are often stale by the time they are published.

However, in this country when departments are not speaking to one another, that implicates one element of your question, and that is national security writ large. A national security policy review that implicated Global Affairs Canada in all sorts of different ways from research security to conflict to whatever else there might be and that also implicated all of the departments that collect intelligence around the country and all of the departments that deal with any security issue right now would be much more helpful. I'm not nearly as concerned with the results as I am with the process, because the process of forcing those departments to speak to one another to create a document on a timeline would meet many of your needs.

Yes, the review might be stale when it is published but I think the relationships that are built and the new understanding around the talent of how everybody does their business on shared files would be very helpful.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

You mentioned earlier that we have to innovate in order to do things better. That doesn't necessarily mean that we have to invest more resources, even though such investments would be welcome. To do better with what we have, we could eliminate working in isolation and go and get the experts who are already in other departments instead of training new ones. That way, we could go and get the resources and information that already exist.

That's an excellent point. Thank you.

Mr. Kersten, do you want to add something quickly?

[Dr. Mark Kersten]

I'm not sure I'm in a position to sufficiently answer, but it's an important question.

Thank you.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you.

Do I still have some time left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Professor Welsh is back and she has reconnected.

You're just about at the five-minute mark.

To make up for that complication, we'll give you a minute to respond.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Dr. Welsh, could you continue what you were saying before the technical difficulties?

[Dr. Jennifer Welsh]

I'm sorry. I don't know what happened.

What I was going to answer for you is that I think the development of expertise in the areas of climate change and digital technology that were identified in that report speak to the need for GAC to be able to lead but also to convene. I think these will have to be cross-departmental expertise hubs going forward.

I would only say as an additional editorial point that I was surprised to see there was not as much identification of issues related to migration in particular and in stability. I thought that in addition to climate change and digital that might have been an area of cross-government support.

On your question about Canadian companies, I would simply conclude by saying that I think, as Canadians know, when companies act abroad, they are sometimes “Canada”, and that's how they are seen. I know, for example, that in some of the feedback I have provided on the feminist foreign policy that is being developed, we made this point very strongly. We need to consider how our companies operate globally as part of our overall footprint and influence, because sometimes that can actually be negatively affecting Canada's place in the world.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

On that note, I want to thank our three witnesses.

I know that I speak on behalf of all of the members when I say that this has really been a privilege and you have given us much food for thought. Thank you very much for your expertise, for your perspectives and for your time.

Should the members agree, I will now adjourn.

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

The meeting stands adjourned. Thank you very much.