Evidence of meeting #13 for International Trade in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was colombian.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON
This is to Mr. Dade, who's been sitting patiently with not many questions today.
I want to get your viewpoint on this. We heard on Tuesday, clearly, that unions are on the rise, voluntary or otherwise. We're hearing today that this is not the case.
What's your third-party experience as you look at this country? Are union memberships on the rise? Are there more members, or are they actually decreasing, as has been said today? What are your thoughts?
Executive Director, Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL)
I do not have figures with me on union membership, but those are easily available from sources in Colombia, from the Escuela Nacional Sindical, the Colombian version of the CLC.
I've seen reports of recent declines in unionism, but nothing substantial. It would seem to be cyclical. There have been no reports that I've seen of precipitous or unusual drops in union activity.
It's interesting to note, though, that there is a split in terms of support for the free trade agreement among unions in Colombia. Those that actually have a stake in the agreement, those from the private sector, are overwhelmingly in favour of the agreement. Those from the public sector, who don't have a stake in it and won't mostly be impacted by it, tend to be overwhelmingly against.
Policy Coordinator, International Trade, Canadian Council for International Co-operation
Invite the ENS, the Escuela Nacional Sindical, to come and testify. I have their report here, if you want the statistics.
Conservative
Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON
Okay. Thanks.
The other thing I want to put on the record...and I note it was raised in opening comments that when it came to wiretapping and general surveillance, this was a concern. I want to make note that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on June 16, 2009, talked about this new law and emphasized the guarantee of rights and enforcement and legal controls that were in place, and went on to comment that they really commended the Colombian government for having invited various experts as well as the UN special rapporteur on the situation for human rights defenders, as well as the UN rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
Once again, I think we need to have the other side of this, which says that, as the UN High Commission for Human Rights has noted, Colombia went about doing this the right way.
Do you have any comments on that, Mr. Dade?
Executive Director, Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL)
It's interesting to note that Colombia was the first country in this hemisphere to invite the UN High Commission for Human Rights to set up permanent offices. They've been there for close to a decade and a half. Also, the International Labour Organization has been invited by Colombia to come in. So the openness and willingness of the Colombian government to participate with human rights organizations and to take steps that are in the forefront of what anyone else in the hemisphere has done really, I think, speaks to the commitment.
It's also important to note that when we speak of the Government of Colombia, we are not just speaking of the administration and President Uribe, but of Colombia's very strong institutions—courts and other institutions of government. In 2003 we saw the courts revoke the emergency powers that Uribe had declared and make him stop. We've just seen the courts prevent the extension of the presidential term to three times in Colombia. They've bucked the trend in the region. We've seen term limits wiped away.
The institutions in Colombia are strong, and it's important to note, when we speak of the government, that it is not just the administration but it is the institutions of the state of Colombia, and for things such as the rule of law and rules-based trade, there's great hope and reason to be optimistic for what we've seen in Colombia.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Lee Richardson
Thank you, Mr. Allison.
Thank you for a good day. We got a lot in--despite the fact that some people got 43 seconds more than the next guy.
We appreciate your time. Thank you very much for coming.
We are adjourned.