Foreign Affairs committee  Do you mean no one heard what I said?

Foreign Affairs committee  Okay. Thank you, Chair.

Foreign Affairs committee  Could I just ask you to be a little more precise? By “justice”, do you mean legal services within the department, or do you mean public international law?

Foreign Affairs committee  You'll see that there is a recommendation there that the legal services provided in the department be retained. There have, over the years, been various ideas floated to have the Department of Justice handle these particular issues more directly—for example, extradition and issues like that.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think the tools are there. I think they need to be refined, and I think there also has to be a way to ensure that when there is a crisis—if Canadians needed to be evacuated out of Sudan or out of Gaza or Israel right after October 7—that surge capacity is there. I'll go back a bit to my own experience, if you'll indulge me, Mr.

Foreign Affairs committee  Good morning, everyone. Mr. Chair, thank you for your warm introduction. I'd also like to thank the committee for inviting me to appear before you today. I'm here as chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I'm going to talk about our committee's report, “More than a Vocation: Canada's need for a 21st Century Foreign Service,” that was tabled in the Senate on December 6, 2023.