Foreign Affairs committee  Normally one would expect, as Madam Laverdière knows so well having had a career in the foreign service, that any meeting between two leaders of nations would not be spontaneous. We'd already know the people at the lower levels, and we would already have worked out what the two l

Foreign Affairs committee  I think in the past, you know—

Foreign Affairs committee  I really am not too confident that we can come to terms with North Korea through negotiations, as they have a consistent record of not fulfilling commitments that they make in the course of these negotiations, typically with regard to denuclearization in exchange for economic aid

Foreign Affairs committee  I think when we look at the state-owned enterprises, we see they are able to draw on all of the resources of the state in terms of fulfilling their competitive goals, and they also are required to implement the purposes of the state in their behaviour. For example, CSE does not h

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much for inviting me today as you prepare the second half of your fact-finding mission in support of your study of Canada's engagement in Asia. My main area of focus in political science is Canada-China relations. I've also published studies on the domestic and fo

Foreign Affairs committee  I think at that time in 1998 a primary focus of the Canadian International Development Agency, which had representatives in the embassy in Beijing, was good governance, democratic development, and human rights. When China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political R

Foreign Affairs committee  I could speak to that. I think the key here is that China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1998, but China has not ratified the covenant and therefore is not required to report to the United Nations on its compliance with the specific provisions

Foreign Affairs committee  I think because of the great influence of China in the United Nations, the United Nations is probably not the way to go with this because of China's developmental aid to many members of the United Nations on human rights and other issues. The nations are inclined to support China

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't have the list of the countries that endorse the Sino-British joint declaration, but I believe these would be primarily western European and Scandinavian nations.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes.

Foreign Affairs committee  Well, I'm a lowly professor from St. Catharines, Ontario, who studies China, so I haven't been actually approaching any national governments on this question, with all due respect. I do believe our Hong Kong friends might be able to answer that question.

Foreign Affairs committee  In general, our expectation is that the Chinese government should be respecting international agreements that are made, and that would extend to the WTO and all the international agreements that China has ascribed to. I think there is a tendency of the Government of China to pus

Foreign Affairs committee  It's not entirely without some response. At various times the Dalai Lama comes to Canada and meets with our Prime Minister, for example, I think most recently in 2012. There will be statements by the Chinese embassy that promise dire consequences for our relations if our Prime Mi

Foreign Affairs committee  I think certainly it's important that we should be speaking out on this issue. I noted the extraordinary letter that the ambassador of China here in Canada wrote with regard to these hearings, warning us that this could cause a disturbance to China-Canada relations. I think the r

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Allison, and thank you very much for inviting me to appear today to give evidence on the situation in Hong Kong. I would like to provide you with some context based on my knowledge of Canada's interaction with the Government of China and the British emba