Status of Women Committee on May 26th, 2010

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I'm calling the meeting to order. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), this is a study on maternal and child health.

On March 31, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women passed the following motion:

That the Committee invite the Minister of International Cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister State (Status of Women) to appear before the Committee to present a detailed plan of the maternal and child health strategy which the Prime Minister intends to present to the other G8 leaders before their scheduled meeting in June.

This is why we're here today. Two ministers are here: the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister for the Status of Women, and the Honourable Bev Oda, Minister of International Cooperation.

We also have witnesses who are here to support the ministers. They are: Suzanne Clément, coordinator, head of agency, Status of Women Canada, and Suzanne Cooper, research analyst, and, from the Canadian International Development Agency, Margaret Biggs, president.

Before we begin, I will let everyone know that you are each allowed 10 minutes to present. That's the rule at this committee. I will give you a signal when you have two minutes left. At the end of 10 minutes, there will be rounds of questions and we will try to get in as many rounds as we can.

We will now hear presentations. I'll begin with the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister for the Status of Women.

Minister.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister for Status of Women]

Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen members of the committee, thank you for inviting me, as well as my Deputy Minister, Suzanne Clément, and Suzanne Cooper, who are here with me. It is my pleasure to participate in the current discussion on maternal and child health.

I am proud that our government is committed to helping women in Canada and throughout the world, as demonstrated by the Prime Minister's leadership on the G8 initiative for maternal and child health.

While this particular initiative falls under the purview of my colleague, Minister Oda, in my role as Minister of the Status of Women, I believe that empowering women and fighting for equality, liberty, and an end to violence against women are not only ideals that we should be striving for in Canada but blessings that should be enjoyed by all women around the world.

Like Canadian women, all women deserve equality, access to education, a life free from hunger, disease or violence, and the right to know that their children are safe at school. These freedoms and possibilities should not be limited to women who are lucky enough to live in western countries, they should be available to women everywhere in the world.

That is why our government, for instance, pushed for the pardon of a Saudi woman sentenced to jail time and lashings for a crime as trivial as being present with men who were not her relatives. That is why we spearheaded a resolution at the United Nations that censures Iran for its systematic violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens, including women.

And it is why our government has expressed deep concern about the unsatisfactory human rights situations in many countries, especially with respect to women's rights, and called on these countries to live up to their international obligations such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Through the work of our brave men and women in uniform and our allies, Canada is helping to greatly improve the lives of Afghan women and their families. We have now vaccinated more than 200,000 children and more than 175,000 women of child-bearing age against measles and tetanus.

The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan has provided more than 418,000 Afghans--two-thirds of whom are women--with small loans to start businesses and build better lives. In a country where only eight years ago girls were denied access to formal education, there are now over two million little girls going to school. Also, our most basic and fundamental democratic right, the right to participate fully in the political life of their country, a right that Canadian women have enjoyed for over 90 years, is now enjoyed by all of Afghanistan's citizens--men and women included.

Improving the lives of girls and women around the world also includes standing up for their safety, rights, and dignity as individuals. Here at home, our government is emphasizing the equality of men and women under the law and condemning barbaric practices such as female genital mutilation, so-called honour killings, and all gender-based violence.

I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to ensuring that every woman is treated with respect and dignity, a government that speaks for those who have been silenced.

But our principled stands abroad never absolve us of our responsibility to address the many challenges that women face here at home.

Working towards eliminating violence against women and girls will remain a priority for me and for our government, as it should be for everyone in this room. We are a strong and determined voice promoting safer communities and environments for Canadian women. This is why one of the Women's Community Fund's priorities is to finance projects that support victims of violence, so as to help women and girls who are marginalized, frightened and abused and offer them real and positive opportunities, the results of which are life changing.

By providing this funding at the community level, we ensure that the needs of women in remote, rural, cultural, and urban communities are properly addressed so that we can work together to end this bane on our society.

This is in addition to some of the other measures our government is taking to protect vulnerable women, such as raising the age of consent from 14 to 16 years to protect young people, including girls, from sexual exploitation by adult predators.

We've strengthened the peace bond provisions concerning those previously convicted of sexual offences against children, and we have also improved the availability of testimonial aids for vulnerable adult victims and witnesses, including women who have experienced violence.

Human trafficking is an appalling crime that affects women, and particularly Aboriginal women, some of whom are not even 12 years of age.

The Criminal Code is being amended again in order to enact three specific provisions that would make it illegal to participate in human trafficking for the purpose of exploitation, such as forced sexual exploitation or forced labour, to acquire financial or material gains through human trafficking, and to dispose of or keep travel or identity documents for facilitating human trafficking.

These measures are designed to protect victims, many of whom are women.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

With respect, you have gone through half of your time, which is five minutes, and you were asked to appear before the committee to present a detailed plan of the maternal and child health strategy. You will get to that...?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB]

I'm here to support the Minister of International Cooperation, and yes, I will be speaking to that issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB]

On the issue of protecting women from human traffickers and preventing serious crimes and human rights violations, I firmly support the bill initially brought forward by my Conservative colleague, Joy Smith, to impose a mandatory minimum penalty of five years' imprisonment for trafficking a person under the age of 18 years.

Our government's campaign to increase public awareness and encourage the reporting of suspected cases of human trafficking has been widely praised by both the legal community and victims' groups.

Some of the most important measures that our government has taken, though, are those that will help some of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised women in this country--aboriginal women. That is why we have reintroduced the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, which will significantly improve the quality of life for aboriginal women and children living on reserves by providing them with basic rights and remedies on fair division of property.

It is frankly inexcusable that in the 20th century in Canada, aboriginal women, one of the most disenfranchised groups in Canada, do not have the same rights under the law that the rest of us are entitled to.

Our government has also introduced the Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act, to amend two discriminatory provisions in the Indian Act, thus enabling the grandchildren of aboriginal women who lost their status unjustly to register.

This year's budget also provides funding to address the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered aboriginal women. As you know, we will be taking concrete actions to ensure that law enforcement and the justice system meet the needs of aboriginal women and their families.

Madam Chair, as Minister for Status of Women, it is a privilege for me to work on improving women's lives. I am extremely proud of the work done by our government for women here and abroad.

I hope that we will be able to work together to truly improve the lives of women and children in some of the poorest countries of the world, as well as the lives of the most vulnerable women here, in Canada.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Minister.

Now I will go to Minister Oda for 10 minutes.

I will let you have a two-minute warning, Minister.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the opportunity to speak to the members of the committee.

Improving the lives of mothers and their children is key to reducing poverty levels in a real and sustainable way.

This year the international community will review the progress made towards achieving the millennium development goals before the 2015 deadline. Of all the MDGs put forward a decade ago, improving maternal health is the one that lags the furthest behind.

Madam Chair, although recent evidence indicates that maternal mortality rates are improving, progress has been uneven, not only among developing countries but within countries themselves, with mothers in rural areas and the least accessible areas always suffering the most.

It is also the MDG goal that has received the least amount of support. But more important, progress has not been fast enough, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where maternal mortality decreased by only 2% between 1990 and 2005. According to the World Health Organization, every year more than 500,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth from largely preventable causes, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Concerning the results to date for reducing child mortality—MDG 4—the situation is equally concerning. Although mortality of children under five years has declined steadily worldwide, we have not yet achieved the results required to meet the MDG goal by 2015.

Every year three million babies die within the first week of their lives, and almost nine million children in the developing world die before their fifteenth birthday from largely preventable causes, such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, severe acute malnutrition, measles, and HIV. That is why the Prime Minister chose to focus on maternal and under-five child health at the G8 summit in June.

A few weeks ago in Halifax, all G8 development ministers unanimously agreed that improving the health of mothers and children is a top priority for the G8. There was a strong consensus that our scope of action would require a comprehensive approach that includes the full continuum of care, from pre-pregnancy through pregnancy, delivery, and early childhood. This means integrating high-impact interventions at the community level, such as antenatal care, postpartum care, family planning, treatment and prevention of diseases, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, immunization, and nutrition.

Ministers really stressed the importance of improving and integrating nutrition into development goals. The nutrition of mothers is critical for the health of their newborns, and it is absolutely essential to early childhood development and building a healthy population in the long run.

Most important, in keeping with the Prime Minister's focus on accountability, which he has set out as a key theme of our G8 presidency, we agreed to a set of principles by which to guide our work ahead. We agreed to greater predictability, accountability, and transparency of our aid; to pay what is pledged and to fulfill commitments; to shift the focus from inputs only to sustainable outcomes; to improve coordination using country systems to reinforce the ownership and accountability of partner countries to their citizens.

Specific to our G8 priority of maternal and child health, we wanted to make sure that we are making a difference, so we agreed to the long-term sustainability of results; to build upon proven, cost-effective, evidence-based interventions; to focus upon countries with the greatest need while continuing to support those making progress; to support country-led national health policies and plans that are locally supported; to increase the coherence of our efforts through better coordination and harmonization at the country, district, and community levels; and to strengthen our monitoring, reporting, and evaluation.

We agreed that enduring progress does not require new mechanisms, funds, and structures. Rather, existing mechanisms and structures need to be aligned around a common set of goals and aid effectiveness principles, particularly in support of country plans and systems.

As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, has said,

We know how to save mothers' lives. Some simple blood tests, a doctor's consultation and someone qualified to help with the birth can make a huge difference. Add some basic antibiotics, blood transfusions and a safe operating room, and the risk of death can almost be eliminated.

Over the past months, I've met with representatives of our Canadian non-governmental partners such as CARE, UNICEF, World Vision, and Save the Children, who shared their collective experience and knowledge with me. Canada is also working closely with its multilateral partners such as the UN, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the OECD, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

Earlier this month, I was at the United Nations supporting the new action plan on maternal and child health as well as the new plans scaling up nutrition. I have also consulted the African Partnership Forum, because, as you know, the situation on maternal and child health is most critical in Africa. I'm happy to report that many African governments, such as those in Mali and Tanzania, are making important investments and developing new partnerships to advance this important issue.

As we approach the G8 summit in June and the United Nations MDG summit in September, G8 members have taken stock and acknowledged that much remains to be done. With solidarity on this issue, Canada knows that the G8 can make a tangible difference in the lives of millions of mothers and children. As has been pointed out, “A society has little chance to thrive if it fails to keep its mothers healthy and its babies alive”.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Now we will begin a question-and-answer period. It begins with seven minutes. Those seven minutes include questions and answers. We will go in order, beginning with Ms. Neville for the Liberals.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Let me begin by saying thank you for coming today, Ministers. We appreciate your being here, but I must confess that I don't know where to begin. I've just read the motion passed by the committee inviting you here; it was to ask you to present a plan on maternal and child health strategy that you intend to present at the G8, and we certainly did not get that.

I'm going to speak quickly because I have some comments to make, but I really would like your responses. We know that there were briefing notes prepared for CIDA in January that were disregarded by the minister. We know that three months after the briefing it was confirmed that Canada's contribution to the G8 on maternal health and child health would not include funding for safe abortion.

My question is, what happened during this time? Did anyone at the cabinet stand up for women's rights and women's health? There seems to be a paucity of advocating for women's health.

Minister Oda, did you make the decision not to fund abortion? If you did not, who made that decision?

On my other question, the G8 is Canada's signature initiative. As you reference yourself in the brief, there will be no additional funding given to that. Can you tell us how this plan will happen with no additional funding and where the funding will come from if there won't be any additional funding?

For my other comment, I note that you referenced the African Union. I was at a breakfast yesterday sponsored by the nurses where the African Union made the point quite specifically that what they need in Africa is a full range of reproductive health, including access to abortion when and where it is legal.

I'm sorry to throw all of this at you, but my time is limited, and I'm astounded by the lack of response to the motion as it was originally passed.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Thank you very much for the question. I am surprised that you are not clear in your understanding of what we've laid out as our G8 initiative.

We have said that our initiative is about saving the lives of mothers and children. We have identified that MDGs 4 and 5 are not progressing as quickly as possible to meet the goals of 2015. I find it shocking that, in the past, the health of mothers and reducing their mortality have been supported least of all, particularly by Canada. Canada has done some very good work, but when you look worldwide, this area is something that has not received the kind of support that it should have.

I want to make one correction. I did not say there would be no additional funding. What I said and what was also agreed to by all of the G8 ministers, by the UN family, and by the Secretary-General of the UN, was that we do not need new mechanisms, new funds, or new structures. What we have to do is make sure that we surge our support behind maternal and child health, so that we will progress faster towards reaching the goal in 2015. We did not say that there is no additional funding.

What this government will not do, and which has been done by previous governments, is to announce a fancy name for a fund while having no intention to fulfill pledges. We're saying—and we've been told this by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and all the agencies involved—that there is a multiplicity of funds and mechanisms that are all very good and all very effective. We don't need a new mechanism.

We have mechanisms that are effective. What we have to do is increase our support for them. Canada will be increasing its support and will be doing its part as part of the G8 initiative.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Minister, I asked about the decision-making process.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

You asked me about a plan. I said that our plan is based on saving the lives of mothers and children. We've also indicated that we will look to the most effective evidence-based actions that can be taken.

When we have a number of experts, including the Secretary-General, saying that we know what the tools are, many of the causes of death of mothers and children are preventable, and these are easily administered, what we have to do is bring them together at the country level and work in a coordinated way so that we increase the access to health care workers and to health facilities. We know, and we've learned over the years, that the best way we can provide these services is at the local community level, at the district level.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Could you answer my question about the decision-making process, please?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Of course. When we looked at the information provided by the department, which gives us a lot of information and data, historical as well as current, reported on past studies that have been made.... When we put out the parameters of “most effective”, “having the greatest impact”, and “ensuring that our aid dollars are going to make a difference and really save lives”, then we outlined the parameters, as we said, the principles to which our G8 counterparts have all agreed, and the suggested lines of action that could be taken.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

With respect, Minister, you haven't answered the questions I asked. Did you make the decision not to fund abortions and the full range of reproductive rights? If you didn't make it, how was the decision made?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

As all decisions in our government, they're made by our government as a whole.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you very much.

We heard Minister Ambrose speak about the importance of respecting international obligations. One of the international obligations--and I remember quite vividly the Prime Minister signing on to it--is CEDAW.

CEDAW provides the strongest legal protection for women's sexual and reproductive health, and I quote, “...to ensure” that women and men have equal “access to health care services”, including “family planning” services, and “to decide...on the number and spacing of their children” and to have the information necessary to enable women “to exercise these rights”.

My question to you is about whether Canada has now abandoned the CEDAW commitment or how you reconcile it with the commitment made. I do remember when the Prime Minister pledged to honour CEDAW.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

I also want to make sure it's very clear, as was indicated when the president of CIDA appeared, that there was no change to the current practices and policies of CIDA, the agency. What we have identified is a G8 initiative, something that Canada couldn't put forward as an individual initiative. We continue to support CIDA. We continue to support the equality of men and women. We do it in a way that will be effective.

I must tell you that I'm pleased you've given me the opportunity.... When you see what the obstacles are to women in many of the cultures and many of the countries, they face traditional obstacles, cultural and ethnic obstacles, etc. This is a challenge that will take a long time, but Canada has worked very hard in the past and will continue to work, so we will continue our support.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

What I'm hearing you say is you're--

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Ms. Neville, you have gone one minute over, so I'm going to move next to Madame Deschamps from the Bloc.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Welcome, ministers. It is a privilege to have the two of you with us today. We have very little time, and many questions to ask. My comments will tie in what Ms. Neville was saying earlier.

Given the fact that we do not have any numbers or an action plan... You know that when we lack knowledge and are not aware of the facts, doubts can arise.

Minister Oda, you said that the decision to not finance abortion abroad was made by the government. There are 308 Members of Parliament, and perhaps we would have liked to be consulted on this issue. After all, we are a cross-section of our constituencies, and citizens who are Quebec and Canada's citizens, after all.

First of all, I would like to know whether CIDA consulted civil society regarding the strategy you have announced. If so, which organizations were consulted?

In addition, Madam Minister, in your speech you said that, according to the World Health Organization, more than 5,000 women die annually worldwide. That is terrible.

[A voice]

It was 500,000.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

And apparently 13% of those women die as a result of unsafe abortions. We cannot forsake these women. After all, morally and socially, we have a... As a woman and a Canadian citizen, I feel obligated to support these women. Are we to leave them by the roadside to die while we take care of others whose problems are not related to abortions performed by backroom charlatans?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Thank you, Madam.

Let me first of all answer the question. As was indicated clearly at committees, publicly, and also within the House of Commons, CIDA has never financed abortion and does not finance abortion.

What we have done and have indicated as a G8 family is that family planning is part of contributing to the health of mothers. What family planning does is enable a woman to space her children and also have more control over the number of children she would have in her family. I just want to make sure that's clear.

I also want to make sure that...the definition used by the world agencies internationally, the multilateral organizations, was based on the Cairo program of action. If you look at paragraph 8.25.... I will read it: “In no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning”. It then goes on to say: “Prevention of unwanted pregnancies must always be given the highest priority...”.

That is the action plan we are following. That's the action plan that the UNFPA has based their definition on, as have other United Nations agencies. So we are in step with the definition of family planning. Family planning, as you would see....I hope it was provided to you with a summary of our G8 development ministers' meetings and it is in the list of possible actions that could be taken.

We have consulted. In my opening presentation, I've indicated the organizations that have been consulted. I know that the department has also extended the consultations as well. Not only that, I've met with my G8 counterparts by travelling internationally to their countries, as well as consulting with them at the Halifax development ministers' meeting.

I also consulted with the experts we have in Canada. We invited all the major children's hospitals in Canada to send representations and to give us advice, and so many of them came forward with extensive experience in developing countries to give us advice. These are scientists, academics, and doctors who are actually working and giving advice to the World Health Organization. We should be proud that so many of them are Canadians.

So we have consulted, and if you would like a fuller list, I can ask the department to provide that to you--a full list of not only those I've consulted with, but also the consultations we've had as an agency.