Bernard Trottier

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, there are actually two parts to the answer to that question. One part is the long-term assistance we have been providing to not just the CAR but to countries throughout Africa and the developing world. Canada is a major developer through initiatives like the Global Fund to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. So far we have contributed $2.1 billion since it was founded in 2002. We have continuing projects when it comes to development.

The other important plank, the second part of that question, is economic development. This is where Canadian companies are tremendous creators of wealth and prosperity through direct foreign investment in Africa. In so many African countries, Canadian companies are the major sources of direct foreign investment.

In my interactions in Africa in the last two and a half years, I have had the opportunity to interact with many African parliamentarians, and they talk about how much they welcome Canadian investment in their countries. One of the main reasons is that Canadians are generally very good corporate citizens and also have a fundamentally different approach when it comes to developing human resources compared to, say, investments from China. For one thing it is too expensive for Canadians to bring planeloads of their own employees in all cases. At the worker level, at the supervisory level, and even at the middle management level, Canadian companies want to develop African skills and capabilities, especially in the minerals, oil and gas, and energy sectors. That is a way we can positively contribute to long-term development in Africa.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, there are many countries in the world where we can intervene, and I think we have to look at each case on its own merits. In some cases, Canada does take the lead role.

In the case of the Central African Republic, for the most part we are looking to the African Union. It is the leader right now when it comes to deploying security efforts on the ground, and we are going to play a support role.

To the question from the hon. member on whether Canada should bypass the African Union or even bypass France, which actually has some troops deployed there, I think the answer is clearly no. However, we will do everything we can to support those lead countries in their efforts on the ground right now.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, Canada has stepped up. We talked about the dollars, and obviously the dollars are not enough. There are all kinds of diplomacy and effort we have to apply, through all our channels, in order to bring about change.

If we look at just the dollars, Canada is the sixth largest donor of humanitarian assistance in the Central African Republic. It is not a situation we created. It is halfway around the world, and we really are stepping up and doing what we can.

The assistance we are providing to France, the European Union, and the African Union is not negligible. I think there is more we can do, similar to our intervention in Mali, where we provided the French military with logistical support. These are things we need to explore. How we can provide that kind of assistance.

It is always a complicated situation. Those who have served in multilateral peacekeeping efforts know how complicated the chain of command can be, so we have to go in there with our eyes wide open. We need to look at how we can help and provide assistance to those actually doing the effort on the ground.

The NGOs on the ground are also are in great danger, so we need to make sure their security is first and foremost. Otherwise, any kind of food and medical aid is just lost through looting.

Those are the kinds of things we need to do, and we will continue to look at them in the coming weeks.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague's question, but I have to correct a figure that he mentioned. Since 2007, Canada has invested $25 million in the Central African Republic.

In my opinion, if we want to get results when dealing with a very violent situation, we must work with multilateral organizations such as the African Union and with the people on the ground. We have to support them. France has had a presence in this country for a long time and has the military capability to help people right now in terms of security. Unilateral action by Canada will not resolve the situation in the CAR.

We have been helping Central Africa and West Africa with long-term projects run by multilateral organizations such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

With respect to the Central African Republic, for the time being Canada must work with its partners on the ground.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the situation in the Central African Republic by focusing on the response of the international community to this crisis.

In November 2013, the UN stated that the country was on the verge of descending into total chaos, with violence sparking retaliatory action against civilians. Through its political mission, the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic, or BINUCA, the UN struggled to keep the situation under control.

The deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation, along with an increase in violence between groups who are Christian and Muslim, led to the UN Security Council adopting resolution 2127 on December 5, 2013. The resolution authorizes the African Union-led international support mission in the CAR, la Mission internationale de soutien à la Centrafrique sous conduite africaine, known as MISCA, to protect civilians, stabilize the country, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The resolution also authorizes France to support MISCA, paving the way for France to deploy l'opération Sangaris , involving 1,600 French troops. The UN Security Council has asked for options to transform MISCA into a UN peacekeeping force by March 2014.

MISCA brings together over 5,000 soldiers from Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Chad. The Democratic Republic of Congo has also promised troops.

Since its deployment in December 2013, MISCA has already lost 12 soldiers as of February 7. At France's request, the countries of the European Union committed to sending 600 troops to the CAR to support MISCA and the French forces present there.

On January 28, the UN Security Council unanimously approved resolution 2134, which among other decisions, expands the sanctions regime for the CAR. This sanctions regime targets the ring leaders of groups blamed for massacres and human rights abuses. It obliges all UN members to freeze funds, financial assets, and economic resources that are owned or controlled by individuals who violate the arms embargo, commit abuses from rape to recruitment of children in armed conflicts, and undermine peace and stability. Canada will fully implement these UN sanctions.

Also, the CAR has many other partners and supporters who care about its fate. Due to its colonial past and its resulting relationship with the CAR, France has been active in the efforts to bring an end to the conflict and is leading international efforts to increase UN action in the CAR.

In addition to deploying 1,600 troops through l'opération Sangaris, France provided $3.4 million in food and humanitarian assistance in 2013. Two French soldiers were killed in the CAR in December of 2013.

It became clear that African countries in the region wanted to take the lead in resolving this crisis and in providing for their own security and that of their own continent. In this regard, Canada commends the strong leadership demonstrated by the African Union and its member states, as well as by France, in undertaking political and security initiatives to address this crisis.

Like Canada, the United States has advocated for attention to be placed on building a fair and peaceful election process in order to establish a legitimate and elected government in the CAR.

When the government was overthrown in March 2013, the Francophonie, including Canada, passed a resolution suspending the Central African Republic's membership. Members of the Francophonie continue to monitor the situation closely, with an eye to potentially supporting the rebuilding process in collaboration with the international community.

The worsening of the conflict in the CAR has further increased tensions among some countries in the central African region. Resentment against Chadian soldiers and civilians has grown, particularly among Christian communities in the CAR.

Some Chadian peacekeepers in an earlier mission for the consolidation of peace in the Central African Republic, named MICOPAX, were accused of freely allowing Séléka rebels into Bangui in March 2013. Some Chadian soldiers were also involved in violent episodes with soldiers from other MISCA contingents. Demonstrations were held in Bangui to denounce their lack of neutrality. The MISCA high command decided to transfer the Chadian soldiers to the northern part of the country.

At the end of December, fearing for the safety of its nationals, the Chadian government evacuated 10,000 people from the CAR. Meanwhile, Chad played a positive role in pressuring Séléka leader and former interim president Djotodia to step down.

International engagement in the CAR has significantly increased through the enhanced humanitarian response in the country. Prior to the crisis escalating in 2013, international agencies were active in the CAR but primarily through international development programming.

Responding to the dramatically increased needs in the international humanitarian system, ranking the CAR among its highest priority responses, Untied Nations agencies and international NGOs have ramped up their presence and widened their operations considerably throughout the country. International humanitarian agencies not previously present in the country, including Save the Children and the International Organization for Migration have begun operations in the CAR over the last few months.

Overall, despite being hindered in their efforts to assist people by the continuing insecurity and looting, humanitarian agencies are increasing their capacities in response to the crisis with a particular focus on strengthening responses outside of the capital of Bangui where there have been considerable unmet needs.

During this crisis, Canada once again stepped up its humanitarian efforts as part of the international community. In 2013, as my colleague mentioned earlier, Canada provided $6.95 million in humanitarian assistance to those affected by the violence in the CAR, making Canada the sixth largest bilateral humanitarian donor that year.

Another Canadian humanitarian allocation of $5 million to the CAR was announced yesterday by the Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie. We hope that our efforts, in co-operation with our friends and partners, will contribute to putting an end to the spiralling violence and ensure a calm and peaceful transition process in the Central African Republic.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, my colleague mentioned in her speech the $6.95 million that was contributed to support humanitarian organizations in 2013. She also mentioned the $5 million that was announced just yesterday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. She could have mentioned also that it has been $25 million since 2007.

This is a terrible conflict. I know my colleague has been to Africa many times and has a deep affection for that continent. I think she would agree that it is a welcome development in this conflict that the African Union is leading some of the efforts to stabilize the situation to protect civilians especially.

I wonder if she would comment about the contributions Canada is making when it comes to enhancing the capabilities of member nations in the African Union. I think it is really important that we get beyond food, health care, and education, some of the basic things. Ultimately, to have some stable countries in Africa, they are going to have to have some capabilities when it comes to their justice systems and their defence systems and so on.

[Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, January 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to my colleague's speech from across the way. There are some very mixed messages criticizing the agreement but saying that she will support it and that her party will support it.

There is a certain history of the Liberal Party not really supporting trade deals. We all remember Jean Chrétien promising to rip up the free trade agreement in 1993, and then getting elected and doing nothing of the sort. Now they have that religion around free trade.

With respect to free trade in Latin America, we have free trade deals with Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama. I was in Guatemala City recently and met with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. I met with somebody who is actually operating in Costa Rica and Colombia, where we do have free trade agreements, and we talked about how they have kitchen showcases. There is a rising middle class in Latin America, and what do middle class families want? They want new kitchens. They are importing entire kitchens from plants in Winnipeg and Montreal. This is just an example of the tremendous opportunities for exports to countries like this.

When we criticize a deal because it is too small, we have to recognize that collectively Canada is really becoming a player in these markets in Latin America.

Would she explain further why she thinks trade with a small country, which on the one hand she is supporting, is not ambitious enough? One country at a time, we are building a trade arrangement in Latin America and making Canada a major player.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, January 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the reports of the delegation of the Canadian branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie concerning its participation at the Bureau meeting and XXXVIIIth Session of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, held in Brussels, Belgium, from July 8 to 12, 2012, as well as bilateral meetings and the XXVI Session of the Europe Regional Assembly of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, held in Paris, France, and Chisinau, Moldova, from November 13 to 21, 2013.

[Ukraine, January 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue's speech.

In 2012, I went to the opening of Spirit Lake camp. The camp commemorates a very sad time in the country's history: the internment of Ukrainians during the First World War. It is something we must never forget.

It is now 2014. My colleague talked about the leading role that Canada can play in resolving the situation in Ukraine. Can she explain the measures that Canada can take along with like-minded counterparts from other countries to bring freedom and democracy to Ukraine?

What can we do together with allies that share the hopes and dreams of Ukrainians to help the people of Ukraine?

[Situation in Ukraine, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague's comments. I think the core of the problem is really a lack of political will. On its merits, as my colleague can appreciate, additional free trade agreements are good for everyone involved. Freer trade results in freer opportunities, more opportunities and more prosperity for everyone.

As a distant observer, we shake our heads and ask why Ukraine would walk away from a tighter economic integration with Europe. There was a lack of political will. The Ukrainian administration did not want to get closer to Europe largely because it was pressured by Russia, let us be honest.

I also think there is a lack of political will on Europe's part. We all know that Europe has its own economic challenges. Looking at the prospect of having to extend billions of dollars to Ukraine so it can avoid default was a real challenge. Europe has had enough challenges in its own back yard with Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain and other countries and it has really hesitated to say that it should put money forward at this time.

If there had been more political will, there should have been a way to make this happen. Therefore, we will continue encouraging our Minister of Foreign Affairs, our Prime Minister and others to engage with Ukraine and with Europe and drive them toward a closer economic integration.