International Trade committee  If the question is what happens if we don't have a trade agreement—

International Trade committee  Let me deal with it in parts. In terms of what happens if we don't have a trade agreement, we can look at what's there now. There are trade and investment arrangements. Canadian business has interests in Colombia. Canadian mining has very significant interests in Colombia. Presu

International Trade committee  Well, Mr. Cannan, it's a mess. That's the problem with Colombia. One can say a lot about bilateralism versus multilateralism, about the value of trade agreements, about the enhancement of commercial connections. And all of those things are worth paying attention to, but Colombia

International Trade committee  I think it is testable. Certainly, if we can rely on it as a reason for entering into an agreement, it had better be testable. We're using it as a reason for buttressing, getting alongside, and cross-branding with a government that has become known as the most egregious human rig

International Trade committee  We'd agree with the position that Amnesty has just described. But there's nothing intrinsically negative about trade growth. It may well carry a lot of benefits for countries that are able to experience it. But there is also no empirical evidence for the notion that democracy and

International Trade committee  Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for the chance to be here today. We think the study being taken on by this committee on the Canada–Colombia trade agreement is unique and certainly very important. From our point of view, it is the first substantive opportunity

Foreign Affairs committee  Seven, Mr. Chairman.

Finance committee  Bill C-293 was introduced in second reading by Roméo Dallaire, who is the Senate sponsor of the bill, on October 25. I'm happy to tell you that today Mr. Segal responded for the government to Mr. Dallaire's speech. So my hope is the result will be that it will have been referred

Finance committee  That's a pretty tough question. Climate change is going to have immense impact, especially on the world's poorest, almost no matter what. The real question is, how effectively can the world community marshal resources to help poor economies address this? The principle of Kyoto i

Finance committee  You make a good point, sir, about the question of affordability. If Canada does not now reinvest in aid spending when it is so eminently affordable, when on earth will it do so? And it does go directly to the credibility not only of the Prime Minister, but also of the Government

Finance committee  Thank you very much. My name is Gerry Barr. I'm president and CEO of the CCIC, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, Canada's coalition to end global poverty. The council is a membership-based organization with almost 100 non-governmental organizations working aro

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm sensitive to the fact that you're pressed for time. I would just say that although the roots of good political culture actually are in a robust civil society and pre-party, if I can put it that way, plainly the organization of social movements and political parties is an impo

Foreign Affairs committee  It's an empirical question and a very tough one. I don't honestly have a good answer to it, but skepticism is rolling forward as I hear your characterization of the position. Institutional weaknesses are the kinds of weaknesses one would look at, rather than GNP or an income numb

Foreign Affairs committee  The quick answer is that where it's not possible to provide aid in a proper fashion through government channels, you have the possibility of non-governmental organizations that can give you management and accountability. That's often the case where challenges of accountability ha

Foreign Affairs committee  I would just like to say that the diaspora, particularly in Canada, is an asset. It is truly multicultural and enjoys close ties with the rest of the world, particularly with third world countries. Obviously, this makes it much easier for Canadian civil society to build relations