National Defence committee  I think we and the United Nations share the same overarching objective. As I said, our strategy is based on the results of successive UN high-level reviews that have said measure, focus on the political, focus on supporting the political dialogue that will lead to sustainable pea

National Defence committee  I won't speak about Canada's contribution there because as significant as what Canada is doing, we are, in the global scale, only one contributor and there are many other big donors at work. The European Union is probably the biggest, providing all kinds of comprehensive support

National Defence committee  I'd say significantly larger.

National Defence committee  On that, I can assure you that our men and women deployed in Mali will benefit from augmented diplomatic support in the field, which is to say that they will have access to information that our diplomats will be gathering on the ground so that they better understand all the dynam

Foreign Affairs committee  My name is Mark Gwozdecky. I'm the assistant deputy minister for international security and political affairs, and I also carry the title of political director.

Foreign Affairs committee  That's a very big question. As the minister mentioned earlier, it was and continues to be a subject of discussion including in the G7, where G7 foreign ministers took a very clear decision that we would stand up collectively for that international rules-based order and that we wo

Foreign Affairs committee  The peace and stabilization program is a vital program that very few countries have. Not even every G7 country has a program like this. It's a program that focuses on the part of the spectrum that most conflict and fragile countries are most vulnerable to; that is, before they ar

Foreign Affairs committee  I would like to remind colleagues of the situation around North Korea not more than about 10 months ago when missile tests were being conducted, where the level of rhetoric was very extreme, and there was a deep sense of worry that tensions might boil over. At that time Minister

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm Mark Gwozdecky, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Security and Political Affairs.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think the simple and short answer to your question is that everybody owns the democracy file at Global Affairs. It's not something for which we want to create a silo and give entire responsibility. My colleagues who deal with the geographic components of the department all have

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. I now understand where you were going with your question. Indeed, we received some new funding in the budget to deal with democracy promotion, and in particular, electoral observation. For all issues we always have a focal point in our department so that there is one

Foreign Affairs committee  It's a core component of the feminist international assistance policy. It stands alone with all of the other elements, and all of those elements are meant to be integrated when we go abroad. It's an area, as I've mentioned, that has received new funding. We've clarified the lines

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll have to give you the answer to that later, where—

Foreign Affairs committee  The government has made a commitment to adhere to the Arms Trade Treaty, and under that commitment, which should be made official in a matter of months, there will be an annual report.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd be happy to provide that answer to you.