Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, and honourable members of the committee.
I have been asked to speak to you today to provide some background about Canada's presence in Iraq and to briefly discuss our relationship with the governments of Iraq and of the Kurdistan region of the country. I hope this will provide some useful context for today's discussion.
I can also address the question asked by the honourable member of Parliament about the number of IDPs displaced since the beginning of the Mosul operation. The response is 70,000, according IOM statistics.
Canada is in the process of expanding its diplomatic presence in Iraq as part of the commitments in its three-year strategy to counter Daesh and respond to the crises in Syria and Iraq. Until last spring, our presence in Iraq had consisted of a political officer in Baghdad and a small complement of local employees in Baghdad and Erbil. Canada's footprint has now expanded. In Baghdad, we've added a full-time Canadian development officer, a defence attaché and assistant, and a management and consular officer, along with several local employees. In Erbil, we have a new Canadian political officer and a military police security service position.
Despite our relatively small presence, our diplomatic staff in Baghdad has regular access to the Government of Iraq and to the UN at senior levels. We've also developed good relationships with officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and with local officials, such as governors and mayors. We expect that we will be able to deepen our existing relationships in Iraq and expand on our network of contacts as our mission continues to grow. This is particularly true in Erbil, where Canada has the smallest presence of any G7 nation, and where we have only recently created our first full-time Canadian officer positions. This new presence will be an important link to the Yazidi population for Canada, as they are mostly located in northern Iraq, and access from Baghdad requires air travel.
The Yazidis are particularly concentrated in four provinces of Iraq: the northern Nineveh province of Iraq, and the provinces of Erbil, Dohuk, and Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. The two biggest communities are in Sheikhan, northeast of Mosul, and in Sinjar, which is near the Syrian border, 80 kilometres west of Mosul. Both are in Nineveh province.
Since 2014, many Yazidis have fled Sinjar, ending up in the Sheikhan area, in camps for internally displaced persons that are mainly in Dohuk province, or as refugees in other countries, such as Turkey and Greece. At present, the area around Sinjar remains off-limits to our mission staff and Government of Canada officials because of the ongoing battle against Daesh in Mosul and in the greater Nineveh province area.
While progress is being made in the campaign to retake Mosul, there are still large areas that remain under the control of Daesh, in particular to the west of the city, where Sinjar is located.
The lDP camps in Dohuk province are more accessible, and our staff can travel fairly safely when accompanied by our security services provider. Though costly, this type of travel does not present a significant threat to the safety of our mission staff, and suitable accommodation is available in Dohuk should there be a need to remain for more than a day.
We know that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, is currently working on fulfilling its commitment to resettle Yazidi victims in Canada. Our mission staff will be able to provide support for this initiative should we decide to proceed with the resettlement of refugees from Iraq.
As a result of our contact with Iraqi officials and with the Yazidi community, we know there is a certain level of support for the idea of providing focused assistance to the most vulnerable among the victims of Daesh. We've also learned, through the media, about certain concerns. Our staff can ensure that Canada's resettlement program is subject to a proper consultation with all parties prior to implementation. It will be necessary to ensure this initiative receives the support of the broader community in Northern Iraq, especially at this important juncture in the fight against Daesh, when attention is turning towards mending sectarian divisions and allowing displaced populations to return to their homes.
One important consideration will be the duty of care for Canadian government staff, which is an overriding concern for Global Affairs Canada.
When the government decided to increase its operations in Northern Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East to address the Daesh challenge to international and regional security, one of our first objectives was to gain a better understanding of the security environment and to design a security package to protect Canadians.
In March of this year, the regional security manager for the Middle East and North Africa travelled to Erbil to review potential locations for a Canadian office and to review the security environment to determine what would be required to create a secure environment for Canadian officials to work.
Two sites were identified as credible physical security environments for Canadian staff. Both sites were hotels with excellent physical security protections. Global Affairs Canada has new physical security standards, which will be implemented for the establishment of the new mission. These include perimeter protections such as walls and setbacks, interior controls for personal and vehicular access, and screening provisions.
At this point, we won't be too specific when outlining all our security measures. In addition to the physical measures, we reviewed the operational security measures. These measures range from movement protocols, to local security capacity, to access to medical facilities and reliable evacuation options.
