Mr. Chair, I would like to start off by thanking all my colleagues who have participated in this committee of the whole this evening and who have taken this debate to a level worthy of praise. It was really important to take stock of the situation in the Central African Republic, considering the rapid deterioration of the current situation, which is extremely tragic.
Like I said earlier, as the member for Beauport—Limoilou, I am privileged to be in contact with nationals of the Central African Republic in the Central African community of the greater Quebec City area.
Over the past two years that I have been in contact with them on a regular basis, I have been amazed and astounded to see the strong sense of belonging, of course, and the networking throughout the various events they have organized.
Take the holiday season for example. They organized a very vibrant and joyful Christmas celebration, and their compatriots from across Quebec, and even other parts of Canada, came to Quebec City to celebrate Christmas and to be together and socialize. We might even say to find solace in each other, but that is not really the term. They were really there to support each other, given how concerned and worried they are about their loved ones in their home country.
My colleagues from all parties have mentioned in their speeches that the situation in the Central African Republic is not without precedent, far from it. It is actually a situation that has shown for decades that the constitutional state, or—to actually focus on a specific state organization—that the organized state has never been a reality, especially outside the capital of Bangui.
The Central African Republic has gone through the torment of dictatorships and then the vacuums that followed them. It is experiencing great difficulty in mastering democracy, organizing itself and providing its citizens with safe surroundings.
We could cite other unfortunate examples of countries next to or farther away from the Central African Republic, such as Sudan and South Sudan, which were once a single state and were torn apart by domestic conflicts. The Democratic Republic of Congo is another example of a never-ending and forgotten conflict despite the millions upon millions of deaths. In fact, it is practically impossible to tally the deaths. What comes to mind even more quickly for me, and an example that should compel us to be very worried for the future of the CAR, is another conflict that unfortunately has been completely forgotten, or another completely disorganized country that is a state in name only, and that is Somalia.
The Federal Republic of Somalia fell prey to factions that fought to gain control of the country, often for very special interests, I would even say base sectarian interests. Unfortunately these groups managed to arm themselves with incredible ease, to our great shame, far from the watchful eye of the West, against our desire and ability to take action and to influence the destiny of these abandoned peoples.
When my constituents originally from the Central African Republic came to see me—I mentioned this earlier—I was very surprised to see that, beyond their concerns, they were actually very confident and hopeful about Canada's ability, through its presence and by speaking and expressing itself on the ground, to have an influence beyond what I could have imagined or grasped. Is this hope based on a misperception of just how much influence Canada really has? This needs to be put to the test. This really brought home what my responsibility is as an elected member, as well as the collective responsibility of an elected House in a rich country, one that has an excellent reputation and a past legacy that could lead us to assume these responsibilities.
My constituents from that part of Africa told me that if Canada spoke to the Central African Republic, it would have a huge influence. The people there would listen to Canada, and whatever Canada said would be taken into consideration by the parties on the ground. I commend the Government of Canada for the financial assistance it has allocated in light of the conflict. However, beyond the numbers and the money allocated, there is unfortunately still room to criticize this government for its current approach to international aid, which has been clearly expressed based on our supposed or real national interests.
Beyond our capacity to be present as a diplomatic corps, as a country, there is this famous human factor of influence and good relations. They have significantly diminished, unfortunately, but such is the reality, to our great shame. I hope that we will not limit our involvement to just handing over some money. It is a kind gesture, but we have to do more than that. We have to extend our hand and have an individual and collective influence through our human presence and our excellent reputation.
I want to again thank all my colleagues for taking part in this committee of the whole, this take note debate. I hope this is not the end of the debate. I hope that this will inspire concrete action that will be much broader and much more comprehensive.
