Foreign Affairs Committee on June 4th, 2026

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

What do we do to convince these five nations, then, as Canadians?

[Dr. Jasmin Mujanović]

I will defer to the government in terms of what sorts of strings we can pull, but there are obviously bilateral ties that we have with each of these countries, not least of all at the economic level. It's something that's going to be purpose-fit for each of these countries.

Obviously, our relations with Cyprus, say, are different from Spain's. I don't think it necessarily means that we need to imperil our relations with Madrid or anyone else. It's just to say that we need to make this a topic of conversation and say that Canada does not see why this is something that Spain and others have really dug in their heels on.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to Madam Vandenbeld.

You have the floor.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of our witnesses.

I'd like to start my questions with Ms. Bishop.

Jo-Anne, I was going to start with women, peace and security, but you did mention in your opening remarks that you got your start internationally through the international youth internship program funded by Canada with OSCE in Bosnia. The reason I know this is that we were both colleagues as interns at that time, in 1999-2000. That's where we first met.

I want to ask you about that, because that was a period when Canada was supporting both youth and very senior secondments in some of the multilateral institutions like OSCE. You're now with UN Women. Can you tell us if you think it's important for Canada to continue to support Canadians to be within these multilateral institutions in the region?

[Jo-Anne Bishop]

Thank you, MP Vandenbeld. It's lovely to see you and also to reference back to this start in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Backing up even more, I was a graduate of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. I studied international diplomacy, negotiation and conflict prevention. I was interviewing Canadians coming back from the Kosovo verification mission. I was interning at CANADEM. My path was set for where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. I was actually seeing the first cadre of Canadians who went before that to Croatia.

For me, on the chance to go, I have to say that it was my first time across the Atlantic Ocean. I showed up in Sarajevo in 1999, and it was an incredible experience to immediately apply all of the knowledge. I worked in the OSCE. It was a really critical time. I would add that it was a very hopeful time, which is a bit of a shift from the moment now. There was a lot of opportunity if you were someone who was hard-working, committed and able to exert a high degree of professionalism. I moved up quickly in the five years. I went from being a field officer to being head of the non-discrimination department in the OSCE.

From that, I then moved into ODIHR and set up the tolerance and non-discrimination department, really setting the ground for all of ODIHR's work on hate crimes in the OSCE. From there, my international career continued with Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Liberia, etc.

Creating these opportunities for Canadians out of programs where they have that knowledge that's also grounded in practice through the research they do, it really creates an opportunity for Canada to be at the forefront of influencing and also of applying practices on the ground that work in influencing change and impact. For me, that's the whole reason I started international work: I wanted to see impact and transformation and make a difference in lives.

I think this is the case for many Canadians. I'm always ready to support other younger Canadians. I wish that the internship program had continued, quite frankly, because I know that institutions like my own would be very ready to host other young Canadians looking for the same opportunity that I had.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you very much. I think you have had impacts. We really do need to make those opportunities for younger Canadians today and for all Canadians.

We're very limited for time, and I do want to touch on the women, peace and security funding you mentioned. I know that in the original Dayton negotiations, women weren't at the table. You were saying in your opening remarks that women are organically mobilizing. They're not waiting, but they're not being supported. How important is it that women be part of all these negotiations?

You also talked about—I got some key words—“sustained” and “funding”, and you said that Canada had “dedicated women, peace and security investments”. I know that the minister is going to reappoint an ambassador for women, peace and security, but what more can Canada do to support the women in this region and around the world?

[Jo-Anne Bishop]

Thank you. It's a very important question.

I'll just go back to your first point on why women have to be at the table for peace agreements. The data is very clear that peace agreements are 64% less likely to fail when women are involved, and there's a higher chance of them lasting more than 15 years. We know that, for example, in Kosovo, women such as Edita Tahiri were part of the Rambouillet process—she was the only one in that sea of men in the photo—but that was not the case in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I have to say that part of the work we are doing that is financed by Canada under the Secretary-General's peacebuilding fund has involved, for example, hosting a high-level women, peace and security conference to pay tribute to the legacy of women from this country who, through their lived trauma and experience, were the ones who shaped UN Security Council Resolution 1325. It was their experience that declared rape a crime against humanity.

These women took the space early on. We know what the situation of women in Yugoslavia was in terms of equality, but since the war, with PTSD and all of the issues that come after a war, women's political participation has been stagnating. It has actually been decreasing.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Thank you very much.

[Jo-Anne Bishop]

Okay. Hopefully we'll have a chance to elaborate further later.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Thank you very much.

Monsieur Brunelle-Duceppe, go ahead.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for being here.

Ms. Bishop, I'll let you continue, since you were on a roll. I was also interested in what you were saying.

[Jo-Anne Bishop]

I think it's the part about what Canada can do to support this agenda. What is very important.... Canada, in the past, has done a lot, and I want to note that when I spoke about survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, Canada was actually one of the donors, early on, to a program that was supporting conflict-related sexual violence survivors. This was approximately 10 years ago. Now, through Canada's contribution to the Secretary-General's peacebuilding fund, it is supporting a number of peacebuilding efforts worldwide, but Bosnia and Herzegovina remains one of the only countries in Europe and central Asia where there is targeted funding. There's $20 million of investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Secretary-General's peacebuilding fund. Canada is the fourth-largest donor to that fund.

Under that fund, a lot of work is being done. The largest program under the fund is on women, peace and security. This is a $5-million program, which will be ending soon, in early 2027. It is having a huge impact. With issues regarding challenges with the level of the state, and sometimes with the rejection of the state—one example of that is the national action plan on 1325, which still has not been adopted—local peacebuilding efforts and engagement of women in advancing intercommunity trust are having a huge impact. We know this from the past—very often, women have a lot of success when it comes to addressing divisive narratives, bringing together communities and really advancing social cohesion in their communities.

Now we're supporting, also with the peacebuilding fund.... Today, I just met 20 local women's organizations from the most remote parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, some of whom have never received funding, who are now initiating similar activities in their communities. These activities address the unmet needs of CRSV survivors and support trust-building between communities that are still challenged to speak with each other and co-operate, and are challenged by misinformation and disinformation.

Continued funding for work on women, peace and security, and for programs like this, is really critical at this point, and I would also add the Elsie fund to that.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Ms. Bishop, I'm very glad that you informed us of that. However, since the new Canadian government took office, a new direction has been taken in terms of funding certain international aid programs. Prime Minister Carney's first budget included major cuts. This is somewhat following the trend we're seeing with the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, or in Europe.

Right now, there's a sort of cut in the budgets for international development. That's often related to the desire to spend more on defence. Through a strange kind of rhetoric, that gets tied to the budgets for international aid even though they should be considered two completely separate things.

We can see what's happening in Canada. We aren't the only ones doing it, but, unfortunately, we're doing it too. One of the first questions the Prime Minister was asked was whether Canada was going to continue its feminist policy abroad. He said that this was no longer the case.

Shouldn't we be concerned about that? Shouldn't we sound some alarms?

The new government in Ottawa has to be made aware of the concerns raised not only by your organizations, but also by local organizations that may have fewer resources but may be more affected by this kind of policy.

[Jo-Anne Bishop]

This is a global problem. Funds everywhere are shrinking, especially in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Because it is a middle-income country with a very complex context, it still requires investments in everything you're discussing now.

The investments, even to the peacebuilding fund, have decreased. Also, if you look at Canada's contribution year by year, it has dropped, but this is the case for pretty much all governments because of global developments, the war in Ukraine and, I would add, the gender push-backs. A lot of our traditional donors that used to support gender equality, women, peace and security are not doing so anymore, and there are a number of them.

Obviously, this is having an effect on global funds and funding for women's organizations, women human rights defenders and so on.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

You say that this is a global problem and that Canada is somewhat following this trend. We agree that Canada is neither a military power nor a global economic power. However, it has a history of defending human rights. This is coming from a Quebec separatist. We need only think of Brian Mulroney regarding apartheid in South Africa or Lester B. Pearson regarding peacekeepers, to give a Liberal example, for the sake of fairness. There has been a history of defending human rights.

Precisely at a time when everyone is cutting these budgets, shouldn't Canada seize this opportunity?

Instead of following this trend, couldn't Canada emerge as a leader and say that it will fight this wave, which is having serious consequences on the ground, particularly in places like the Balkans?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Answer very briefly, please.

[Jo-Anne Bishop]

I would add that Canada has been a leader in women, peace and security, and this is globally recognized. The issue of shrinking funding is having a huge impact on women's organizations across a whole range of areas. It requires those governments that are decreasing funds—not all governments, of course; some are actually increasing funds, but they are small in number—to compensate for the decreasing funds. Also, other governments need to continue to step up to support organizations during this critical time.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Aboultaif, you have five minutes.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Welcome to all of the witnesses appearing before our committee today.

The Russian presence in the Balkan region, in general, is historic. There are so many ties culturally, economically, in security and otherwise.

Dr. Mujanović, could you make a quick assessment of the last 10 years and Russia's role in the region? China is a bigger economic power, and it seems that it is also heavily involved in the region. I think a quick assessment would be of benefit to this study.

[Dr. Jasmin Mujanović]

I know we are very limited on time. I will just say I would be happy to submit a note to the clerk with any additional details regarding many of the issues.

The Russian presence in the western Balkans since 2014—since the first invasion of Ukraine—has grown by leaps and bounds. Russia has a very sophisticated intelligence footprint on the ground. Just yesterday, we had the news out of Montenegro that the Montenegrin authorities turned back several dozen Serbian nationals who are thought to be directly linked to both Serbian intelligence and Russian intelligence, and they were dispatched on what was basically a disruption mission for a summit.

We know Serbian nationals have been trained by Russian intelligence. We know Russian nationals have been trained in Serbia. We have very close ties between the secessionist authorities in Bosnia and in Russia. Mr. Dodik, as I said, is actually in St. Petersburg now, as we speak, for the third time in less than a month and a half. They have influence in Serbia. They have influence in Montenegro. They have influence in North Macedonia. It's a very sophisticated political and intelligence operation on the ground.

The reason they do this—this is where I'll end—is that they maintain that the western Balkans are a potential second front against NATO in Europe. The first front is Ukraine, and the second front is this region.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Canada has had a wonderful rapport in the region since General MacKenzie was leading the forces, and his role in making peace in the region is significant. That legacy's still there, but we don't have the same influence due to the changes that are taking place and the aggressiveness of players such as Russia and China.

One thing Canada has is energy. We know LNG could be an item in our hand to have influence in the region in the meantime, to compete with the Russian supply and make their position there uncomfortable. I know you've written about that somewhere. Due to the lack of time, I would appreciate it if you could submit those statements or that research to the committee. It would be great to add them to the report.

I have a minute and a half left. Can you comment on this, and then we'll go from there?

[Dr. Jasmin Mujanović]

Yes, I will certainly submit all of those materials to the clerk.

This is a region that is in the process of decoupling from Russian gas dependency. This is because of the EU requirements. The Americans have stepped in and said they want to become the chief LNG provider, not just for the western Balkans but essentially for all of eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the way that is being done is very non-transparent and very questionable. There are, in fact, questions about whether some of these purported companies—I say purported because they're essentially shell companies—may themselves actually have ties to other unsavoury characters. Let's just put it that way.

For Canada, which is such a major LNG producer and is in the process of reinvigorating its relationship with the Europeans as a whole, the western Balkans are a very logical place for Canadian companies and Canadian industry to do business. I'm not going to tell you that the western Balkans are the world's biggest market—they're not—but they are a significant market. They're a market that would certainly grow in significance with credible, transparent investment.

I think it's very logical for Canadian companies to attempt to bid, with the support of the Canadian government, on some of these projects that are emerging in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia and elsewhere.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

What does Canada need to do in that regard? We don't want to be a subcontractor. We want to be a general contractor. We want to be the one that supplies directly to them. What should the Canadian government do to make that competitive edge available for Canadian companies?

[Dr. Jasmin Mujanović]

First and foremost, it needs to be articulated as a policy priority. It then needs to be articulated through high-level diplomatic engagement. I've spoken about the lack of embassies being a major problem. Then, it's to actually speak with these local governments and tell them what Canada can offer in terms of construction of pipelines and provision of raw materials—LNG and other.

The other major thing that needs to be highlighted is that this is a region that has recently been recognized for fairly significant raw critical mineral reserves. The Canadian mining industry, logically, could be interested in helping this region build up its capacities. That, of course, also speaks to the long-term Euro-Atlantic interests of the region. In that sense, there's a lot of obvious synergy, but it requires Canada to engage on the issue.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Zuberi, you have the floor.