FAIT Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade |
![]() HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du commerce international |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Ottawa, March 31, 2004 -
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE RELEASES ALL-PARTY REPORT ON CANADA’S RELATIONS WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade today tabled a major unanimous all-party report entitled Exploring Canada’s Relations with the Countries of the Muslim World. The report follows extensive public hearings in Canada and meetings in a number of Muslim-majority and other countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe.
The Report’s 30 recommendations focus on building a more vigorous constructive Canadian approach to relations with countries in the Muslim world, including the challenging areas of democratic governance, human rights and educational reforms. The Report calls for strengthening the effectiveness of Canada’s diplomacy in overall terms, and in specific cases such as those of Canadians Zahra Kazemi in Iran and William Sampson in Saudi Arabia. The Report also urges greater efforts to engage Canadian Muslims in the development and implementation of their foreign policy, and Canadians as a whole on the issues raised by the study.
According to the Chair of the Committee, Dr. Bernard Patry (Liberal: Pierrefonds-Dollard, Québec), “There is no more topical issue at the moment in international affairs than relations between Muslim states and those in the West. This study has allowed all members of the Committee to become better educated on the complexities involved in this area, and we believe we have made recommendations that will be very useful as the Government reviews its international policies this year.”
In the course of the year-long study, Dr Patry led Committee delegations that held consultations in Europe and North Africa, and in Israel/ the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Egypt. Liberal Vice–Chair, Hon. Diane Marleau (Sudbury, Ontario) led a delegation that held meetings in Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Pakistan, and Conservative Vice-Chair Stockwell Day (Okanagan-Coquihalla, British Columbia) led a delegation that held consultations in Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
A comprehensive government response to the report is required within 150 days. In the event of an intervening election, the Committee has the option to re-adopt the report in the next Parliament, thereby ensuring a government response.
The Report can be read on the Committee website : www.parl.gc.ca/fait
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