Foreign Affairs committee  It's Gwozdecky.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm a northerner, like you.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Mark Gwozdecky, and I am the assistant deputy minister for international security and political affairs. I'm one of those “thematic” assistant deputy ministers that Mr. Rigby referred to. We try to take a leadership role in coordinating w

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. Well, migrant smuggling is a phenomenon that happens in many different regions and requires different responses depending on the region. One example I can refer to happens to be the one that's most newsworthy these days. This is with regard to Syrian refugees taking b

Foreign Affairs committee  We're doing a lot and we're doing it in various fora. We participate in a more globalized coalition of countries called the global coalition against terrorism, and inside that global coalition there is a working group dedicated to terrorist financing. We also participate in s

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for that question. That is one of those many issues that are currently under deliberation. I suspect that by the time of the budget, or pretty soon thereafter, we'll have answers to all of those questions. I'm sorry, but I can't give you a definitive one right now.

Foreign Affairs committee  That's another one that is still in the works. It is a complex matter. I can tell you that it's certainly a commitment of the government to accede to that convention, but it requires a review of our legislation and our regulations to determine where we may need to make changes

Foreign Affairs committee  In very rough terms, it's about fifty-fifty Canadians versus locally engaged staff. I think the reason for this is that we employ local employees where possible. It's much more economical to do so when we can find qualified people who understand the country and who can provide co

Foreign Affairs committee  If I may, I'll try to respond to your good question. I think Minister Dion said yesterday pretty clearly that we don't see the United Nations through rose-coloured glasses. It's an imperfect institution, but it is the only institution we have, and we have to work within it. You

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd like to add something to your point about proliferation-related activities. Many will have followed the announcement by the government a week ago, when we lifted many of the sanctions that were in place against Iran. I should tell you that we did not lift the controls that

Foreign Affairs committee  FINTRAC would certainly be one of the partners that we work with regularly on this issue. The fact is that overall we have a relatively consistent approach with regard to the United States and our European allies when it comes to sanctions, but our lists are slightly different.

Foreign Affairs committee  That's a fundamental policy question that I think we'd be happy to take back to our minister for consideration. It's not something we'll be able to pronounce on today, but we'll very happily bring that clear message back.

Foreign Affairs committee  That very much is a question that has to be answered with “it depends.” It depends on who you are, what you're working on, and the circumstances. For example, all of our ambassadors are empowered to speak. In fact, all of our officials are empowered to speak. One has to take in

Foreign Affairs committee  I can speak for those ambassadors with whom I work most closely, including our ambassador to NATO, who, without any consultation or approvals, was speaking to the media a number of times last week on some NATO decisions. Again, it depends on the nature of the person and their c

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, he is able to speak publicly. He has been encouraged to continue to do his excellent work, because we recognize the important work he's doing. We're working to ensure there's continuity in that regard. We are also looking at the question of human rights within a broader rub