International Trade committee  Thank you. I was also disturbed by the comparison between Canada and Colombia in terms of electoral crimes, or the state of democracy between Canada and Colombia, which I do think are two fundamentally different things. I would encourage folks to go back to the report that we did put out.

International Trade committee  Yes. I think what you've spoken to in terms of the investment that the Colombian government has put into the demobilization is one thing, but the actual impact or the results of that “demobilization” program are quite a separate thing.

International Trade committee  As we've seen in the region I went to as part of the delegation, Bajo Cauca was one of the main areas that had been identified, not only by human rights organizations but by the state officials we talked to, or the department officials, as one of the places where these “demobilized” paramilitaries came back and walked right back into a life of crime, because they certainly know nothing else.

International Trade committee  I believe Canada has an important role to play in the world in terms of having an impact on trade, human rights, and development in countries.

International Trade committee  I know my argument is not that this is a bad deal for Colombia; it's a very bad signal that Canada is sending to the rest of the world.

International Trade committee  No.

International Trade committee  Thanks, Barbara. I'll be brief. I think the purpose of this committee is to determine whether or not this is good for Canada, and overall a good deal. I'll take the opportunity now to say that I do not understand the opposition to a human rights impact assessment report. If it uncovered that it would be positive for Colombia and positive for Canada, then that report would have been dutifully done.

International Trade committee  I would briefly add that in July I was in Bogota for a very short amount of time, for six days. We were down there looking at the feasibility of doing this mission in February. At that time we went to the Colombian government. We met with the government-funded, -sponsored, and-promoted human rights office, the human rights commission.

International Trade committee  I would add to that, in agreement with Barbara, saying obviously the Colombian government hasn't made a larger effort to take any...and not just our recommendations but other recommendations of international organizations that have been on the ground in Colombia, to make any concrete changes toward the concerns that are raised.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. To start with the question of whether the amendment will give the Colombian government any ability to impact the human rights condition, one thing I would talk about, which we also lay out in the report to some degree—but there are various other reports, which I'd encourage people to look into—is the process that the Colombian government put in to “demobilize” paramilitary groups.

International Trade committee  If I could just quickly clarify—

International Trade committee  I could be very quick in my—

International Trade committee  No.

International Trade committee  The organization I currently work with is separate from the delegation that I attended.

International Trade committee  Sorry, I just want to finish that thought. What we put forward in the report was that if that does not exist, then the committee should be considering it, and one of the main ways to do this is through the human rights impact assessment.