Lois Brown

[International Development, October 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we want to assist the most vulnerable people around the world and help to lift them out of poverty. Our government has a global reputation for paying what we pledge. Canada has been commended for delivering on its commitments to transparent and accountable development and for doing exactly what we say we are going to do. We will continue to ensure that all Canadians can take pride in our global leadership in development assistance.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is the very reason that we need to work with other countries. Canada will not be alone. Countries from the Middle East are working with us. We heard the minister today talk about Bahrain coming in. There are countries in that part of the world that also see this ISIS group as a huge threat to peace and security in the Middle East.

We need to work co-operatively on this. We will continue to assess the situation on a day-to-day basis, but we have to work with other countries.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is precisely the reason why we have to work with our allies. We are working in conjunction with countries like the United States, Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom. All of these partners are working together because our goal right now is to downgrade the ability of ISIS to create more tension in that part of the world. We have to work with our partners on this.

We will continue to assess the situation on a day-by-day basis. We have committed to a six-month term working with our allies. We will be continually reassessing, and we will reassess when that times comes.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we know ISIL is a brutal group of people that is out to kill, maim and injure Iraqi people and dispose of very vulnerable small religious groups that get in its way because they do not believe in the same thing.

This mission that Canada is looking to undertake, in conjunction with our allies, does not preclude any of the humanitarian assistance that we need to get there, but it has to be done in tandem. In order to get any humanitarian aid there, we need to clear the routes. We know ISIL will not allow it, but we need to continue to work with our humanitarian partners.

There are people with deep roots in Iraq. The Canadian Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, Plan Canada, MercyCorps, Save the Children have been there for a long time. We are going to—

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is like turning the channel to move from the conversation that we have just had about recognizing a fiddle day in Canada back to the weightiness of the debate in which we have found ourselves today.

Canada is deeply concerned by the recent increase in violence in Iraq and in the humanitarian consequences.

First, Canada condemns, in the strongest terms, the targeting of civilians and religious minorities. We are deeply concerned by reports of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. That is why we continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law.

I would like to provide some context tonight that will help us all understand the dire situation being faced by the people of Iraq.

The humanitarian situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate as armed clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—ISIL—and government forces drive displacement.

Since January, an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced throughout the country, which represents one of the largest cases of internal displacement in the world. Basic services, including health care and water infrastructure, are disrupted, resulting in acute humanitarian needs.

The intensity of fighting in ISIL-held areas has resulted in a security situation that does not allow humanitarian organizations to operate. The persecution of minority groups, including Christians, Yazidis, Shabak, and Shia Turkmen, is an ongoing concern.

This is why the Canadian military contribution, as articulated by the Prime Minister, is so vitally important. The size and pace of displacement has overwhelmed local communities. There is a concern that the schools being used as shelter may not be able to reopen as scheduled, which means that 850,000 children will begin to fall behind with their education.

Canada is actively working with partners to address children's needs and to see what more can be done. We are currently working through experienced partners, such as Save the Children and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help provide child-friendly environments for displaced children and to give them the psychosocial support they need.

We believe that when adults fight, children's education should not suffer, and the continued academic growth of children must be secured even in the face of conflict.

Keeping the family unit together, ensuring that assistance needs are met, and providing case management are the keys. The flows of internally displaced persons have also placed considerable strain on health structures, and many health facilities are overwhelmed with large caseloads.

In addition, food security is a growing concern in central and northern Iraq, because normal supply routes have been interrupted by conflict and insecurity. The next harvest is at risk in the areas affected by the conflict, and that accounts for nearly a third of Iraq's wheat production. Millions of Iraqis are likely to face food shortages later this year unless these challenges are resolved.

A key challenge for the humanitarian community continues to be the difficulty of being able to get into conflict areas to reach the people who need the help. Again, this is why targeted air strikes are so important to assisting the humanitarian effort. We need access to the most vulnerable, and ISIL is not about to offer that.

The sheer number of different locations people have fled to, as well as their mobility, adds a layer of complexity that makes matters even more difficult for humanitarian organizations.

Canada is working through experienced humanitarian partners, such as the United Nations humanitarian agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and non-governmental organizations to get life-saving assistance to those who need it.

Since the beginning of 2014, Canada has allocated nearly $29 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Of this, $19 million is in response to the recent civil unrest and almost $10 million is to respond to the needs of Syrian refugees in Iraq.

Just recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced an additional $10 million contribution to support the innocent victims of ISIL's brutality, in particular, to respond to the heinous acts of sexual violence and other human rights abuses being committed against women and children.

To date this year, Canada is the seventh most important humanitarian assistance donor responding to civil unrest in Iraq, with a share of 4.4% of the emergency appeals. With these funds, lives have already been saved. Canada's funding is helping to meet the health, shelter, water, sanitation, protection and food needs of affected Iraqis, as well as relief supplies and camp construction through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

We are also addressing the protection and education needs of displaced children and those whose schools are being used as emergency collective shelters. For example, our funding is helping to support mobile health clinics through Plan Canada, as well as providing medical supplies through the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Canadian Red Cross is currently looking to determine what more can be done. Our humanitarian partners provide very specific assistance, such as transportation to areas of safety or child-friendly spaces, and take steps to ensure that particularly vulnerable people, such as the disabled, the elderly and children, have access to life sustaining services.

On August 28, the first planeload of humanitarian relief supplies was deployed from our warehouse in the International Humanitarian City in Dubai to Erbil. It contained kitchen sets, jerry cans, tents, blankets, hygiene kits and mosquito nets. The relief supplies were distributed by Save the Children to those in need. We anticipate that the second planeload of $365,000 in humanitarian relief supplies will be sent soon. It will include blankets, buckets, tarps, hygiene kits, jerry cans and kitchen sets.

We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure that emergency humanitarian assistance is provided to Iraqi civilians in need. Canadian officials will continue to monitor the situation closely, and assess the security and humanitarian challenges facing the Iraqi people.

I would also like to add that Iraq became one of Canada's development partner countries in June. We already have development staff on the ground in northern Iraq and we will soon finance a series of development initiatives to help communities maintain better services, such as education, water supply and waste management, in response to the recent flow of internally displaced people coming into the country.

Canada will continue to work closely with its allies to determine how it can best continue to support the needs of Iraqi civilians, particularly the religious minorities. Canada will do that because it needs to be done to secure the safety of these people, who are vulnerable and so desperately in need.

[National Fiddling Day Act, October 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful to have this moment to speak to the bill, which I am very pleased to support.

I am a fiddler—perhaps not a very good one, but I have a good time with my violin. I have a lovely violin, thanks to the generosity of my mom and dad, who gave me a beautiful instrument some years ago. My aspiration is to do that instrument justice at some point in my life.

Although I went on with my music and did my degree in piano, violin was always my first love. Whether it is a concerto of Tchaikowsky or Mendelssohn or whether it is the strathspeys, the jigs, or the laments that we have in our Celtic music today, I have a deep passion for the music of the fiddle, the violin, and how it can stir the emotions of the heart.

We have had wonderful cultural experiences here in Canada. Visiting Prince Edward Island, in the same village one can go from a cèilidh one night where one experiences the music of Ireland or Scotland over to a house party where the same instrument is participating in the music of the Acadian people with their step dancing and the wonderful emotion that evokes.

When I was in Newfoundland, I took my fiddle with me. I was on a concert tour in Newfoundland in the summer of 2008 and had the opportunity to go to George Street, where people just pull up a chair in a music circle. People come and go from that music circle all evening with a variety of instruments, but there are a lot of fiddles.

When I was in Cape Breton, I had the opportunity to attend the Celtic college and do some fiddle classes there. I experienced some of the other music that was being played in Cape Breton. We have so much wonderful music that can be played on that instrument.

I have a daughter who decided to take up the fiddle. She loves the music of eastern Europe and plays that music, as opposed to the Celtic music.

What I really want to do tonight is to pay tribute to the wonderful instructors that we have here in Canada, and we have some remarkable musicians. I think of people like Natalie MacMaster, who comes from the east coast and whose name has not been mentioned here tonight. She is one of the people who in the 1990s brought back the wonderful love for fiddle music.

When I was in Prince Edward Island, I visited the Summerside school of piping and spent some time with the gentleman there who was making the fiddles for the Rankin Family, another group that came out of Cape Breton and provided Canada with a remarkable position in the world of Celtic music. Fabulous fiddling came from that group.

However, I really want to pay tribute to those people who have undertaken to instruct young people in the art of fiddling, because so often they do not get the recognition they deserve.

There are teachers who start with very young students and apprise them of the fingering, as my colleague for Timmins—James Bay was saying. The DGAE fingering is seemingly so simple on the fiddle, but it needs accuracy in the position of the fingering. These instructors are the ones who painstakingly take the time to inform young students, first of all, of the mechanics of the instrument itself. Second, they introduce them to the wealth of music that they can speak through into a variety of cultures.

I would like to pay tribute tonight to several people in my life.

There is Phil Howes, an instructor from Markham with whom I had the opportunity to study. Phil is a remarkable musician himself. He is a regular adjudicator at fiddle competitions across Canada. He and his wife recorded a number of CDs, and I would recommend them to my colleagues if they are looking for some good music. Phil is a remarkable fiddler and a delight to listen to.

I would also like to pay tribute to Bob and Ginny Arbuckle, constituents of mine in Newmarket—Aurora. Bob is a remarkable fiddler as well, and a gentleman who has poured his life into instructing young people in the art of music. Sadly, Ginny has passed, but we had many nights at my house when Bob would bring his fiddle and I would get out my fiddle and Ginny would play the piano and we would do lots of wonderful Celtic music.

I would like to offer my thanks to those people who have become instructors, many of them remarkable musicians in their own right. They have poured their lives into the lives of others so that they too can learn the fiddle and learn to appreciate so much of the wonderful cultural experience that we have to offer in this great country of ours.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as a member who represents the riding of Newmarket—Aurora, where the auto industry is thriving and we have secondary suppliers to the Big Three, I can say it is very important for the auto industry to stay strong.

I think we have had the discussion about how the tariffs would be reduced and how we would not have the kind of impact that some people are seemingly talking about as a threat to the auto industry.

I would like to address the hon. member's comments about the Korean people who have immigrated to Canada and the great cultural contributions they have made.

I have a rather large Korean community in my riding of Newmarket—Aurora. Substantially, they have a congregation that meets regularly in one of the churches in town, which tells me that the number of people in the area is large.

However, they have also bought farms in the area just to the west of me. They are providing produce, and they are excited about this agreement going forward because they see great opportunities for selling the produce they are growing here to Korea.

They are very excited about this opportunity. I thank them for the work they have done in our communities. I know they have invested in culture and in industry, and we thank them for what they have done for Canada.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would refer my hon. colleague to page 2 of the bill, where it talks about purpose. Right here it says:

The purpose of this act is to implement the Agreement, the objectives of which, as elaborated more specifically through its provisions, are to

And here one of the provisions explicitly is:

f) enhance and enforce environmental laws and regulations and strengthen cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Korea on governmental matters

We will continue to work on all of these areas with our partners to ensure that the environment is protected.

I spoke specifically in my speech about issues related to the Arctic. Canada has been taking very vigorous action on the Arctic, and we are going to share that with our Korean partners.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada–Korea free trade agreement is a landmark achievement that will result in mutual benefits and prosperity for both countries and lay the foundation to unlock the full potential of our political, economic, and security relations.

The most recent Speech from the Throne committed to expanding trade in the Asia–Pacific region to benefit hard-working Canadians and businesses, especially our crucial small and medium-sized enterprises and industries across the country. We are delivering on that commitment with this agreement.

The conclusion of the Canada–Korea free trade agreement negotiations was announced in Seoul by the Prime Minister and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on March 11, 2014. During the announcement, both leaders demonstrated their strong commitment to raising the overall Canada–Korea partnership to a new level and to entering a new era in our countries' bilateral relations.

The Canada–Korea free trade agreement represents a significant achievement for Canada. It will provide exporters, investors, and service providers with strategic access to a key gateway to the wider Asia–Pacific region and will also provide a level playing field for them and their key foreign competitors from the U.S., the EU, Australia, and other countries that have concluded free trade agreements with South Korea.

In addition, the Canada–Korea free trade agreement is projected to boost Canada's GDP by $1.7 billion and increase Canada's exports to South Korea by over 30%. Canadian workers in sectors across every region of the country stand to benefit from increased access.

This free trade agreement is an ambitious, state-of-the-art agreement covering virtually all sectors and aspects of Canada–Korea trade, including trade in goods and services, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, labour, and environmental co-operation.

It is disappointing to note that during 13 long years in government, the Liberals completely neglected trade, completing only three free trade agreements. The Liberals took Canada virtually out of the game of trade negotiations, putting Canadian workers and businesses at severe risk of falling behind in this era of global markets. Thanks to our government, Canada has reached free trade agreements with an additional 38 countries.

While the Canada–Korea free trade agreement will provide a modern and stable foundation to grow our bilateral relations, it builds on our long history of political and economic co-operation.

Canada and the Republic of Korea established diplomatic relations in 1963. During the Korea War between 1950 and 1953, Canada contributed the third-largest contingent of troops to the United Nations command. Some 26,791 Canadian soldiers served in Korea, of whom 516 died.

As I said earlier today, my cousin was one of those people. Lance Corporal John Howard Fairman, who died on October 13, 1952, was the son of my aunt and uncle, Howard and Blanche Fairman. He grew up in Hastings, Ontario, and volunteered for the Royal Canadian Regiment.

After the Korean War armistice, 7,000 Canadian soldiers served as peacekeepers between 1953 and 1957.

Prior to the establishment of diplomatic bilateral relations, Canada participated in supervising South Korea's first elections in 1948, as part of the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea. Currently Canada is the only state, other than the United Nations, with permanent military representation at the United Nations Command in Korea. Canada participates in the UNC military armistice commission that supervises the armistice.

As well, we are proud to have sent a Canadian delegation of veterans and government officials to South Korea for the 60th anniversary of the armistice on July 27, 2013.

This long-standing, strong, and meaningful relationship has been underlined by the recent leaders' visits. Indeed, The leaders have met twice this year. First, as I mentioned, the Prime Minister visited South Korea in March. In fact, the Prime Minister has visited South Korea on four occasions. The second meeting was just last week, when President Park made her first state visit to Ottawa. It was a great honour to welcome President Park and her delegation to Canada at that time. She was the first Korean president to visit Canada in 15 years.

The Governor General attended the inauguration ceremony of President Park in February 2013, accompanied by four Canadian parliamentary colleagues. This visit comprised part of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and South Korea. Both countries organized a series of activities and initiatives to further raise the profile of the relationship and deepen co-operation.

The Minister of Finance visited South Korea in October 2013 as Minister of Natural Resources, and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans just recently travelled to South Korea to promote Canadian fish and seafood products.

The former Minister of Veterans Affairs, now the Minister of Public Safety, led a delegation of 35 Canadian veterans on a visit to South Korea in April 2013 as part of a revisit program for Korean war veterans. Some 74 Canadian Armed Forces personnel participated in the U.S.-Republic of Korea-United Nations Command military exercise in August 2014, forming the largest non-U.S. contingent from any of the other sending states.

I think members are beginning to see that Canada and South Korea are natural partners.

To further strengthen our already strong ties, Canada and South Korea have established a strategic partnership. Its purpose is to provide the opportunity to focus on areas affecting our bilateral relationship and to identify ways that we can work together regionally and globally on issues ranging from forestry to the Arctic to education to hosting the Olympic Games. This partnership will lay out a strategic direction for stronger relations in key areas of common interest, including energy and natural resources, science, technology and innovation, and Arctic research and development.

Our ties are not limited to bilateral relations. We recognize that we live in a changing and dynamic world. South Korea is in a region with many challenges. Canada and South Korea share similar regional views and objectives on a range of multilateral and global issues.

Our people-to-people ties are extensive and deep. Nearly 170,000 Canadians identify themselves as being of Korean origin. Over 23,000 Canadians are currently residing in South Korea, including about 3,200 language teachers, and 141,800 Korean tourists visited Canada in 2013. They constituted the eighth-largest source of tourists in Canada and spent almost $250 million in the Canadian economy.

Education ties are extensive and growing. South Korea is Canada's third-largest source of international students, with over 19,000 students. There are over 100 agreements among institutions in Canada and South Korea facilitating the exchange of students, faculty, staff, and curricula as well as providing joint research and degree programs.

South Korea is home to a Canadian studies community, including several university-based centres and the Korean Association for Canadian Studies. In Canada, the Korea Foundation supports several university research chairs and South Korean studies programs in universities across Canada.

When the Prime Minister visited South Korea in 2009, he was honoured to be the first Canadian leader to address the South Korean national assembly. At that time, he observed the following:

Canada and South Korea have been staunch allies in the defence of freedom and democracy.... We are not a warlike people, but when the cause has been just and necessary, Canadians have always answered the call. There is no doubt the cause of South Korean freedom was just and necessary. And, the truth of the ideals for which we fought has been revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt as this Republic has flourished, while the Communist North has floundered.

As I have described, Canada is a long-standing partner of Korea and its people. I believe that the Canada-Korea free agreement would contribute to this relationship and to both countries' mutual economic growth and prosperity.

I ask all hon. members to support this agreement, ensuring it enters into force as quickly as possible, as part of their support for Canada's broader collaborative and strategic partnership with South Korea.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my mother was born to parents who had had a first family very early in life. As a result of that first family, I have a cousin who is one of the 516 Canadians who are buried in South Korea.

My cousin was Lance Corporal John Howard Fairman, who died on October 13, 1952. He was part of the Royal Canadian Regiment, and his service number was SM-9462. He was the son of my uncle Howard and my aunt Blanche Fairman.

My colleague here has spoken about the people-to-people ties that we have between Canada and South Korea. I wonder if he has any further comments on how the commitment and service of the Canadian Forces has helped to forge this relationship, which is some 60 years old.