Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development

Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du développement international

For immediate release

Ottawa, November 21, 2018 -

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development presented a report to the House of Commons entitled Strengthening the Canadian Consular Service Today and for the Future.

This study is the first time that a parliamentary committee has conducted a comprehensive examination of the way in which the Government of Canada provides consular service to Canadians.

The Committee heard a variety of perspectives, including those of current and former Canadian consular officials, as well as experts in the field. The Committee also met with individuals who have been directly involved in or affected by complex consular cases.

The report discusses the policy and legal regime governing Canadian consular service. Cases examined by the Committee include kidnapping scenarios, instances of dual Canadian citizens in distress abroad, and situations where the human rights of Canadians in detention abroad are at risk. The Committee’s report also addresses consular modernization and accountability, including the need to improve consular outreach.

The report sets out the Committee’s main findings and makes 15 recommendations. Among those, the Committee is calling on the Government of Canada to review the relevant legal and policy regimes to ensure that Canadians are not subject to arbitrary treatment or discrimination in the provision of consular service. The Committee is also calling on the government to undertake a review of the fee charged for consular service to ensure that it is appropriate and that the consular program is financially sustainable into the future.

The full text of the Committee’s report is available on its website.

The report includes a supplementary opinion from the New Democratic Party of Canada.