Foreign Affairs committee  So are we doing a lot? No, I think we're a bit smug and I think we should be doing an awful lot more in the global community. As a good example about whether we are having an impact, take the example I gave earlier about the constitutional amendment in Zimbabwe that all the law

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll make a few comments. I know you've just been there, but I think that while we have lots of problems in Canada that we can't ignore, and we can even say there may be some levels of corruption and cronyism here in Canada and weaknesses in our rule of law, it's not even in t

Foreign Affairs committee  I agree with you that when you see the basic needs, you'll say, gee whiz, how can we dedicate resources to the higher-level needs—and I say “higher-level” for the rule of law—if we have needs of water and food at the ground level? But the fact of the matter is that you can't have

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't know all the details. Right now, I know there's a focus on poverty reduction. I know that about 30% of CIDA funding actually goes to grass roots organizations or civil society organizations that are directed at poverty reduction and that the Canadian Bar Association has b

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll try to tackle the second question. I'm strongly of the view that if you put dollars into the rule of law, you have the greatest prospect of reducing poverty. The idea is that unless you create a system in which the poor and the vulnerable in society are able to assert their

Foreign Affairs committee  I am strongly supportive. When you ask what I think about it, we would certainly agree with that, if we could empower or develop some resources for NGOs to assist public education on access to the lower courts, and for the courts themselves on developing the capacity to process l

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Madame Lalonde. In different countries, there will be different priorities. When you select your priorities in a different country, you may see that some levels of change are not possible, or they're not possible in the short term. A small example might be if you're t

Foreign Affairs committee  It's a good question, and a question that I've asked. I see the results because I actually have been involved in the east Africa projects myself, and sometimes the results take a few years to develop. In particular, in east Africa what we have done is attempted to empower the law

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Patry, initially I would say that while that's not the court with the most impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged, it is still important that as one of the key institutions of the rule of law, the Supreme Court has adequate support and capacity to function. If we were

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, honourable members. The Canadian Bar Association is happy to have this opportunity today to share our perspective on Canada's support for democratic development abroad. I came here today from St. John's, Newfoundland. I'm a member of the inte

Foreign Affairs committee  As most of you know, we're a national organization. We represent approximately 37,000 members. Our members are lawyers, judges, Quebec notaries, and legal academics across Canada. We have had considerable expertise in international development. Since 1990, the Canadian Bar Asso