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FAIT Committee Meeting

Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.

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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 66

THURSDAY, JUNE 11 , 1998

The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade met at 9:10 o’clock a.m., this day, in Room 209 of the West Block, the Vice-Chair, Colleen Beaumier, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Sarkis Assadourian, Jean Augustine, Colleen Beaumier, John Cannis, Maud Debien, Raymonde Folco, Bill Graham, Ted McWhinney, Bob Mills, Denis Paradis, Charlie Penson, Julian Reed, Svend Robinson, Benoît Sauvageau, Daniel Turp.

In attendance: From the Parliamentary Research Branch of the Library of Parliament: Gerald Schmitz and James Lee, Research Officers.

Witnesses: From the North-South Institute: Roy Culpeper, President.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee proceeded to examine the Canadian Development Report of the North-South Institute.

Roy Culpeper made a statement and answered questions.

At 9:40 o’clock, the Chair, Bill Graham, took the Chair.

And debate resuming on the motion of Gurmant Grewal which is as follows:

--That pursuant to Standing Order 81(7) and 81(8), the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee shall consider and report to the House the expenditure plans and priorities in future fiscal years of the Department of Foreign Affairs with regard to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and its assistance programs to India and Pakistan in light of the recent nuclear testing performed by both countries.

It was agreed, --That the motion be amended by replacing "81(7) and 81(8)" with the following "108(2)".

It was agreed, --that the motion be amended by replacing "future fiscal years" with "the budget for 1999-2000".

And the question being put on the motion as amended, it was agreed to.

Colleen Beaumier moved, --That the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade urge the Canadian Government to consider the advisability of providing financial support for programmes designed to promote the peaceful transition to democracy in Burma; that the Canadian Government continue to support and enhance its financial assistance to Canadian NGOs providing services to refugees from Burma and internally displaced persons in Burma; and that Canada monitor and promote the interests, security and well-being of Burmese refugees in Thailand, Bangladesh and India.

After debate, the question being put on the motion, it was agreed to.

Bill Graham moved, --That whereas the 2,100 Canadian military personnel captured in Hong Kong and held by the Japanese for 44 months during World War II suffered abuse and were forced into hard labour;

Whereas after deliberations, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade tabled a report in the House of Commons in May 1998 which urged the Government of Canada to: recognize the claim made by the veterans against Japan regarding the forced labour, pay equitable compensation to every Hong Kong veteran and examine the possibility of claiming the total amount from the Japanese Government according to international law;

Whereas new information has come to light since the tabling of this Report which may bear upon the legal issues involved and strengthen the case of the veterans;

The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade recommends that the Canadian Government:

  • Pursue this new information to determine if it strengthens the case of the veterans;
  • Work to resolve this issue as quickly as possible in light of its findings;
  • Brief the Committee on developments as soon as possible after the return of Parliament in the fall, and, in any case, include a discussion of them in its response to the Committee’s report of May 1998.

It was agreed, --That the motion be amended by inserting after the words "The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade" and before the word "recommends that", the following: "reiterates its call to pay equitable compensation to every Hong Kong veteran and".

And the question being put on the motion as amended, it was agreed to.

At 10:47 o’clock a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Janice Hilchie

 

 

Clerk of the Committee