Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for this very timely opportunity to provide an update on the situation in Venezuela, including an overview of the political and economic situation as well as humanitarian efforts to address the crisis. As mentioned, with me today is the

Foreign Affairs committee  Very good. In recent years, we have seen many initiatives on Venezuela, which sometimes has made it challenging for the international community. Going forward, one of Canada's objectives is to ensure cohesion in the international community and that it continues to work together.

Foreign Affairs committee  First, it's important to go back in time just a little, to the end of the legitimate term of Nicolás Maduro. As I mentioned, he was legitimately elected in 2013 and his term ended at the end of 2018, in January 2019. The elections that he had advanced and held in 2018 were seen

Foreign Affairs committee  It's early days. I, and others, watched with interest the confirmation hearing of Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He referenced in there...and there have been some references of administration officials since, indicating clearly that the United States will continue to recogniz

Foreign Affairs committee  It's a very good question. The way I would answer is to say that we have taken very good note in following the Venezuelan constitution, as has the legitimate National Assembly. The motion they passed extended their mandate for one year, so until early January 2022. From our pers

Foreign Affairs committee  I think it's important to preface this with the foreign policy of Canada. The resolution to the crisis in Venezuela is for Venezuelans to determine. Yes, we have opinions and we believe it should be done peacefully. We oppose any talk of the use of military force. I'm sorry, Mr

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't dispute that assertion. He has certainly indicated that he has no intention of leaving. I come back to what I just said. It's up to Venezuelans to determine the way forward. If we can get to the point of real, legitimate negotiations that are supported by the internati

Foreign Affairs committee  Definitely. I would say it's a mix of economic relations. Definitely China and Russia both have significant investments and trade significantly with Venezuela. The same goes for Cuba. They have a long-standing history of economic relations, which includes transfers of heavily sub

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd say that while the EU has not stated in the same way as Canada that they continue to recognize Juan Guaidó, they have stated very clearly that they believe the elections of December 6, as well as the presidential elections of 2018, were not free and fair. They have also indic

Foreign Affairs committee  Mexico decided to depart from the Lima Group as it reverted back to a more traditional foreign policy for Mexico of non-interference. They have taken that decision. Prior to these recent events, Argentina made it clear that it did not recognize Juan Guaidó as the interim presid

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm not an overall sanctions expert, but I know that the sanctions regimes we have in Canada and the U.S. are quite different. From a Canadian perspective, we base our decisions on information we have acquired that's in the public domain. A lot of it comes from reports, such as

Foreign Affairs committee  They're U.S. sanctions, so I'm not sure I'm the expert to answer it. Certainly, some of the sanctions they have imposed have attempted to restrict the Maduro regime's ability to export, including petroleum products. Clearly, that will have an impact on the revenues of the govern

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for your question. According to our policy and position, we follow the Venezuelan constitution. I believe that it is rules 193 and 196 which say that the Venezuelan National Assembly can create this delegated committee, and that is exactly what it has done. I understa

Foreign Affairs committee  First, Canada or the Lima Group are not the only ones to have said that the elections were not fair and free.

Foreign Affairs committee  Okay. Concerning the legitimacy of Mr. Guaidó and this delegated committee, the Venezuelan constitution provides that the National Assembly of Venezuela may create such a committee. In our opinion, these acts...