FAAE Committee Report

On May 10 2006, the Committee agreed to “carry out a major study of democratic development in the fall of 2006.” To that end, we began our public hearings with an appearance by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Peter MacKay, on September 27 2006. The Committee also heard from the Minister for International Cooperation, Hon. Josée Verner, on October 18 2006, and from the president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Robert Greenhill on March 1 2007, which was our last hearing of the study.

Beyond these meetings with Canadian government officials, the Committee heard a wide range of testimony from knowledgeable witnesses in the course of over a dozen public hearings in Ottawa, as well as receiving a number of written submissions. In addition, the Committee undertook two international study trips to learn from the experiences of other donors and from international experts. These were to Europe (the United Kingdom and the four Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark) in October 2006, and the United States (Washington D.C., and New York, notably to the United Nations) in February 2007. We thank all of those who contributed to our study for the quality of their presentations.

While the idea of Canadian support for democratic development originated from parliamentary discussions during the mid-1980s (see chapter 4), this Report is the first comprehensive report on the subject to have been undertaken by a parliamentary committee. This is an important subject that has been overdue for such scrutiny and serious examination by Canadian parliamentarians.

All parties are agreed that now is the time for Canada to move forward significantly in the challenging area of international democratic development, and to bring an approach to this complex field that reflects Canadian values and interests in the world. The Committee’s report takes into account the critical issues that need to be faced by providers of democracy assistance and key lessons that have been learned. It also takes into account and builds from existing Canadian experience and expertise.

The Committee’s report strikes a bold new direction for Canadian policy. Going beyond the status quo, it is not satisfied with only a few small changes. We propose substantial innovations which we hope will gain the support of the government and Parliament. We are confident that Canada can become among the world leaders in democratic development. Canadians, we believe, are up to the challenge.