International Trade committee  Maybe I'll just mention—

International Trade committee  I think we have a very strong record to share in terms of corporate social responsibility, which has been a focus of the government, including the extractive sector, for example. Because of the scope of Canadian investment in that sector, it's an area where we can work to build c

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would say the EU is dominant in terms of their development program just because of their budgets. The United States is very important as well. It also includes World Bank and others so that you have the IDB, Inter-American Development Bank. I think the resources are good, and t

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would like to add that the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission contains recommendations on the governance and democracy in that country. There are challenges to overcome. The objective of a number of recommendations in the report is to avoid another coup in the fu

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That is a good question. Once again, I suggest that you invite Mr. Kergin to make a presentation because he sat on the commission as a Canadian representative. He met with groups across the country and he knows a lot about how the people of Honduras feel. I personally feel that

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I suggest that you invite the people from CIDA. It is difficult for me to say a lot about that. I have noted some things about their activities, but I am reluctant to make any comments about their approach. It is true that education and food safety are key factors in Honduras. I

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  There are a number of reports that you can consult or that we can send to you about the human rights situation and the impact of those reforms on Honduras.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Sometimes, that is not easy to do. We still have a long way to go. As for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I think they have made some progress. However, challenges remain. Actually, as I said, some entities in that country are not really interested in pushing forward th

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If I could just respond—I think Jeff mentioned this as well—if you're looking at further witnesses here, I hope that CIDA would also be able to come in to talk about some of their programming because this is a country of concentration for them. What you're talking about is a litt

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'll answer the latter point. I'm aware of the charter cities concept. It hasn't proceeded through the Honduran parliamentary and approval process, so that's an open question, but certainly it's not part of the free trade agreement. If you wish to pursue that, we could pursue tha

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think if you look at some of the land title disputes in the rural parts of Honduras, clearly, those are important drivers. A number of deaths have been attributed to tensions over access to land and ownership of land. Honduras has come a long way, but there are still some domin

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, there are two elements there, I guess. Under the Honduran constitution, referenda can be initiated only by the congress to seek public opinion, not by the presidency, and the underlying theme was that then President Zelaya was seeking a public consultation, a referendum, on

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, maybe I'll answer, and if Jeff wants to add something, he can. Obviously, impunity is the major challenge in Honduras, seeing as they have a very low conviction rate in the courts. Then again, if others can influence decisions in a certain way, they will try to, and they se

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think I'd rather just defer on that question for now, sir. Having concluded the negotiations, we're looking at the next step, which is the signing of the agreement. You will have an opportunity in the House of Commons, of course, to review that free trade agreement when it come

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  It's not really for me to comment as an official of the Canadian government, but I think if you put that question to a Honduran president or cabinet minister, they would probably recognize that this is a major issue they face.