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Results: 271 - 300 of 544
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, as we discussed, I believe, last week, and as we spoke about in the media, we have indeed had a trip by officials, Canadian diplomats, to Iran, principally to raise consular issues, as we discussed earlier this evening. Those are really important and I feel a real duty personally toward those people. As we discussed openly, I did speak to the Iranian foreign minister on the phone.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, we certainly do. I also want to pay tribute to the brave history of Canadian diplomats, including in Iran. I think we are all proud of Ken Taylor.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to discuss my mandate commitment, our government, and I hope to some extent our country's priorities in the world, and Global Affairs main estimates for 2017-18. I will be using my time to deliver some remarks and then take some questions.
The member for Thornhill spoke about the importance of parliamentary committees. I certainly I believe in that. I have already spoken about the great work done by the committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, As I bear continued responsibility for the Canada-U.S. economic relationship, I also want to acknowledge the great work being done by the committee on international trade. Its former chair is sitting across from me. We all benefit from having such great, experienced parliamentarians and committed Canadians.
First of all, I want to thank the Standing Committee of International Trade and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for their excellent work. Our government is a champion of human rights. In Canada and around the world, imposing sanctions for human rights violations is a hot topic, and rightly so.
Right now, however, no Canadian legislation exists to authorize sanctions specifically for violations of international human rights obligations in a foreign state or for corruption. Bill S-226, introduced by my friend, Senator Raynell Andreychuk, and sponsored in the House by the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, seeks to fix this problem.
This bill expands on the work of an exemplary Canadian, Irwin Cotler, whose 2015 motion called for sanctions to be imposed on violators of human rights. That motion received unanimous support in the House. The tireless efforts of the hon. member for Etobicoke Centre on this issue also need to be recognized.
Today our government is proud to announce that we support this important legislation. The question of how to effectively apply sanctions for human rights abuses and for foreign corruption was among the issues examined by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Our government is delighted to have the unanimous support of the committee members for a new tool that will enable us to impose sanctions for these violations and this corruption.
As hon. members are certainly aware, similar legislation received royal assent last month in the United Kingdom. The United States has also enacted similar legislation. This approach has also been debated in the EU Parliament. Human rights are a non-partisan issue, and I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the opposition on this important initiative.
Our government is a strong defender of human rights. In Canada and around the world, the issue of human rights sanctions, and in particular the case of Sergei Magnitsky, have drawn strong interest, and rightly so. However, there is no current Canadian law that authorizes the imposition of sanctions specifically for violations of international human rights obligations in a foreign state or for acts of corruption.
Bill S-226, introduced by my good friend, Senator Raynell Andreychuk, and sponsored in the chamber by the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, aims to address this gap. The bill builds on the work of a great Canadian, Irwin Cotler, whose 2015 motion calling for sanctions on human rights violators received the unanimous support of the House. I was glad to be sitting as a member. I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the tireless efforts of my friend, the hon. member for Etobicoke Centre, on this issue. Today, our government is pleased to announce our support for this important legislation.
The question of how to effectively apply sanctions for human rights abuses and foreign corruption was among the issues examined by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Our government was very encouraged to see unanimous support from committee members, many of whom are here this evening, for a new instrument to impose sanctions on human rights violations or corruption. Our government supports expanding the scope under which sanctions measures can be enacted under the Special Economic Measures Act to include cases of gross violations of human rights and foreign corruption.
As hon. members are surely aware, last month comparable legislation received royal assent in the United Kingdom. The United States enacted a similar law in 2012, and this approach has been debated in the EU Parliament. I truly believe this is the direction the world is going, and it will send a strong message to the world that we are able to work in a non-partisan fashion together to advance this important legislation. We hope it will receive unanimous support when it comes to a vote in the House.
I will certainly work hard for that, and I really want to thank members on both sides of the House for their hard work. We know this has not been an easy issue to support, and I am sure there will be some objections, but we as Canadian members of Parliament can be united. Together, we will advance Canada's resolute defence of human rights at home and abroad, and advance our national values.
Let me now turn to my mandate: restoring Canada's constructive leadership in the world, promoting our values and interests, and ensuring Canada makes a meaningful contribution to global peace and prosperity. Through our progressive international agenda, we are strengthening our credibility and influence, contributing to a more just and inclusive world, helping to make the world safer and more secure, and contributing to a more prosperous world for Canadians and everyone else. There is more work to do.
Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. I was very pleased to announce earlier today that Canada will seek to co-chair the Equal Rights Coalition, a group of 33 governments committed to promoting and protecting the rights of LGBTQ2 people around the world. One of the coalition's recent priorities is addressing the deplorable human rights violations against gay and bisexual men in Chechnya. Canada has led on this issue since we spoke out publicly on April 15, and I want to assure hon. members that our government continues to be very deeply engaged in this specific issue, and I am personally very involved.
Abroad, we have taken a feminist approach to our foreign policy and international assistance, providing significant support for sexual and reproductive health rights, including abortion, which I know my beloved colleague will discuss this evening at greater length. Our leadership on key international issues has also been evident on the environment. Together with my colleagues, Canada has been implementing significant contributions to the Paris agreement, and I want to note that at the recent meeting of the Arctic Council, which I attended, I personally was glad to see that the Paris agreement was mentioned in that shared declaration. That was important, as was climate change.
In the realm of international security, our government is implementing a strategy for security, stabilization, and humanitarian development assistance for Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Of the $1.6 billion allocated in budget 2016, $1.1 billion is dedicated to humanitarian assistance and development programming. Again, we will hear more from my colleague about that later tonight. Through our strategy, we are making meaningful contributions to the region. Another significant contribution is our welcome of more than 40,000 Syrian refugees to Canada, something that all Canadians can be proud of, and is really a distinctive contribution of Canada to regional security, Europe's security, and investment in the future of our great country, to which immigrants have contributed so much.
In eastern Europe, we have recently extended Operation Unifier in Ukraine. Canadian women and men in uniform are leading a multinational NATO battle group in Latvia. Canada values NATO's role as a critical contributor to international peace and security, and we view NATO as the cornerstone of North Atlantic security and defence policy.
One of our closest NATO allies is, of course, the United States. As all Canadians would expect, our government has made it a priority to build a relationship with the new U.S. administration. Since the election, we have been focused on engaging with our counterparts on how to collaboratively grow our economies and support our middle classes.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the parliamentary secretary spoke about the work that Global Affairs Canada has been doing. When it comes to engagement with the U.S., this truly has been a non-partisan effort. All Canadians appreciate the absolute importance of that relationship, very much including the economic relationship.
I also want to take the opportunity to thank the members of this House on the opposite side of the aisle for joining with us, which was very much led by the outgoing leader of the official opposition, who has done a terrific job. I believe we have been able to work well together on this file, and that is really important.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, this is certainly another area where there is support from all sides of the House, and I want to recognize the work of the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman in particular, who has been a strong supporter of Ukraine and Ukrainian Canadians for many years.
I think we will be seeing some support for Ukraine in this House tomorrow, which is Den Vyshyvanka. A lot of us will be wearing our vyshyvanka. I will be wearing mine. Tomorrow, we will have a leading Ukrainian politician here, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. A lot of us will meet with him.
We often talk about Ukraine as something of interest to Ukrainian Canadians. However, it is very important when it comes to the invasion of the Ukrainian territory and its annexation by Russia to understand that this is a grave violation of international law. This is a grave—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, of course I am very involved in this file. This is a very important issue, and it is just as important to me now that I am Minister of Foreign Affairs as it was when I was the minister of international trade.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, my answer to the previous question may not have been clear. I want to be very clear that the issue of the behaviour of our mining companies abroad is one I take very seriously as Minister of International Affairs. I referred to my past role as minister of international trade, simply because when I held that portfolio, I was also deeply engaged in the issue.
I want to assure the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie that this is an issue we take very seriously. My colleagues in other portfolios in the department take human rights very seriously as part of their work.
Going back to the very first point, I was very glad to hear the member for Laurier—Sainte Marie speak of her support for Bill S-226. It is good that we now have support from all three parties in the House. I am also aware of the other elements of the committee's report. I am looking at those—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, as my colleague said, our government has already released an official statement on this. As a steadfast ally to Israel and a friend to the Palestinians, Canada is committed to supporting peace in the Middle East. We are committed to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace, which includes the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security.
We support the peace process, promote security and the rule of law, stimulate sustainable economic growth, and provide humanitarian aid.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for the opportunity to continue to speak more about our policy in the Middle East. As I said, we are a steadfast ally of Israel, and we are a friend of the Palestinians. We are determined to support peace in the Middle East.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for continuing that line of questioning, because I had not finished my answer.
We are committed to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side, in peace and security with Israel.
We support the peace process. We promote security and the rule of law—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, in this informal environment, I think I can speak for all my colleagues in saying we feel we are much more in a committee room and sometimes it is quite easy to dispense with the formalities of the House, so I do not mind.
I want to thank the hon. member for raising the question of the Arms Trade Treaty. As the hon. member knows, we made a campaign commitment to join this treaty, and I was very pleased that, at a time when we are working hard to pass a lot of legislation, on April 13 we were able to table legislation for Canada to accede to the Arms Trade Treaty, something previous governments had not done.
The Arms Trade Treaty can set a real global standard for trade in weapons, and can thereby help prevent human rights abuses and protect lives. It is something we are very committed to, and I look forward to working hard with the hon. member on ensuring both swift passage of that legislation and that all of our legislation meets the standards of that important international treaty. We believe in multilateralism.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I think in general, as the foreign affairs minister, it is not a wise practice to answer hypothetical questions. However, I would like to remind the member opposite that her colleagues are clearly on the record as to what they would do.
The hon. member for London—Fanshawe said during the campaign, “We don't renege on contracts. It's a signed contract and we will honour that contract.” I suppose that position from the hon. member is—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I have just consulted with my deputy minister, the excellent Ian Shugart, who is sitting here with me. According to my recollection and his, we believe I have signed no export permits, but we will take that under advisement and we will double-check; we have a few hours, but that is what we believe to be the case.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, on arms, I cannot resist quoting the leader of the NDP who said, “You don't cancel a commercial accord retroactively. It's just not done.”
I think I have spoken about that in our commitment to corporate social responsibility at some length. I am personally committed to it, as is the government. I do not want to tread on the territory of my colleague, the Minister of International Trade, and he will speak about that further.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I was hoping that the first question from the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster would be for me, because it is very rare that I disagree with my colleague, the Minister of International Trade, and rarer still that I disagree with him and agree with the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster. However, I must say that the Minister of International Trade suggested that very many Canadians were watching us all here tonight, and the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster, sotto voce, suggested that perhaps more were watching the Senators. I popped out earlier and I can inform the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster that when I popped out, they were winning 4-0, which is fantastic.
We had a lot of discussion earlier about CETA, and I want to take this opportunity, with his first question directed to me, to thank the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster personally for the hard work that I know he did on that. Also, there is someone who is not here with us—I do not know if I am allowed to say that—but we should not talk about CETA without also acknowledging the hard work that the member for Abbotsford did on that agreement.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I want to thank the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster for bringing up this case. I am very seized of it. I absolutely am. I am very concerned about the situation of Mr. Chang. My officials are working hard on it as well. I am glad that the hon. member has brought it up. It is very important for us to focus on the status of Canadians abroad. I agree with the hon. member's characterization of the details of this case and want to assure him that we are working hard on it.
He has mentioned a friend of all of us, Ambassador John McCallum. He is doing a great job and working very hard. I am glad that the hon. member shares my confidence that Ambassador McCallum is a person we can rely on to advocate for Canadians in China, and that is what he is doing.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for his concern about this issue. I promise to let Ambassador McCallum know that if he can pull this one off, the hon. member has now, in the presence of all of us, pledged to congratulate him.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am not sure a bottle of wine would be something Ambassador McCallum would appreciate particularly, but praise or acknowledgement from the hon. member he certainly would.
I was indeed in Shanghai as trade minister. Weldon Epp was our terrific consul general there at the time. Some of our officials are here now. Weldon and all the officials in our department are absolutely terrific public servants. They do a terrific job of briefing visiting ministers on all the issues that concern them.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I would like to start by thanking the member for London North Centre for his very hard work on these issues, and for his very eloquent remarks on these urgent issues this evening.
As the member has said, I fully support his characterization of the chemical weapons attack in Syria as a heinous war crime. As the Prime Minister said here in this House, the U.S. response, the limited, focused, targeted attack in response to the use of chemical weapons is something that Canada fully supported. That was the right thing to do, and we were very glad to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our ally in that action.
The member for London North Centre has asked what Canada has done further, and I am pleased to underscore that we added a further 49 names to the special economic sanctions list against Syria, and we have done a lot more.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his question. Venezuela is very important to our government and our allies.
As my hon. colleague has said, we were privileged in Canada to have Lilian Tintori and Antonieta Lopez here yesterday. The Prime Minister met with them, and I do also want to recognize the hard work that our former colleague, Irwin Cotler, has been doing on this issue.
A very important point that was discussed yesterday that I would like to raise in the House is the detention of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. That is absolutely unacceptable, and I want Senor Lopez to know, and I hope he will hear, that all members of the House very strongly stand with him. This is an issue of great concern to Canada, and we are working hard on it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I thank the member for Prince Albert for all for his hard work on this issue.
Like the member for Prince Albert, I would like to acknowledge that one thing Canada has done right collectively, with respect to this issue, is we have approached it in a non-partisan fashion. We understand this is really an issue for team Canada, and I really want to thank all the opposition parties for the way that we have been working together as a team on this key issue, not just the Canada-U.S. relationship but on NAFTA generally.
The member for Prince Albert spoke about all of the work that his party and the opposition MPs have been doing. I am the first to acknowledge that. Yesterday, the interim leader of the official opposition announced that she is moving on to a great new life. Maybe this is a good opportunity to also acknowledge the personal role that she has played with respect to leadership on this file. I spoke to her today, and she stated her intention to continue to be very involved. I am really glad to hear the praise for Ambassador MacNaughton, who I agree is absolutely doing a great job.
I have one final point on the bipartisan nature of our work that is worth underscoring, and the way it may be unprecedented in Canadian trade diplomacy. In addition to all of our parties working together, we are collaborating very closely with business and labour unions. I want to acknowledge those civil society actors, as well as the premiers and the mayors who are working so closely with us. A team Canada approach is the best way for us to really be successful, and I am proud of our country so far for having demonstrated that.
The member for Prince Albert asked how Mexico fits into the picture. I am pleased to answer very specifically. When it comes to the NAFTA negotiations, that is my responsibility. It is something I take very seriously. This is a really great and important trade agreement for Canada, and I promise all members of the House, and the member opposite, that I will work really hard to get a terrific deal for Canada going forward.
As the member opposite knows, NAFTA is a trilateral agreement. We are very much approaching the negotiations, and our mindset is very much on a trilateral deal. All three parties must be at the table. I am in close, very regular contact with both Ildefonso Guajardo, the Mexican minister of trade, and Luis Videgaray, the Mexican foreign minister, both of whom are engaged on this file. I will just say quickly that next week I am travelling to Mexico to meet with my counterparts there.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Is the Chair also able to answer on my behalf? That would keep you busy, Mr. Chair.
With respect to timelines, what Canada has said from day one is that we are ready to come to the table at any time. Something we can all agree on is Canada has the best trade negotiators in the world, and it will be a terrific team that goes to the table with us. We had a little back chat across the aisles. I do not know how allowed that is, but a question was asked about where Steve Verheul was. He is here and is working very hard, together with a great team at trade, on this issue.
As the member opposite knows, and I think all Canadians, as part of this process, are becoming real experts in the U.S. congressional system and TPA, the U.S. is bound by the TPA, which stipulates that negotiations can only begin after the 90-day notice has been given. I was in Washington on Monday and Tuesday and met with Secretary Ross and Ambassador Lighthizer. I was the first foreign official with whom Ambassador Lighthizer met. He said that was quite intentional. He wanted to show the importance of the key accords to Canada.
Although no one has a crystal ball when it comes to the world or the United States, now that Ambassador Lighthizer has been confirmed, I would expect the process will start to move forward.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, when it comes to softwood lumber, the United States has made no offers that any Canadian would consider to be acceptable. I am absolutely certain of this. Where the U.S. right now is a level at which no member of the House, no Canadian province, no Canadian company, and no worker in the softwood industry would consider acceptable. We absolutely believe a negotiated deal is possible and desirable, but we want a good deal not just any deal.
I want to remind the hon. member that we have won at every trade tribunal, we have a strong hand, and we will not be reluctant to play it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the best way to characterize our conversations, both with Ambassador Froman and with Secretary Ross, are very extensive conversations around softwood lumber. I do not feel that any of those conversations from the U.S. side have yielded a sufficiently good basis for a really meaningful negotiation to take place. I want Canadians to know that we will never negotiate against ourselves.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I apologize for talking for too long. I am very passionate when it comes to softwood lumber.
I believe the hon. member is referring to Ambassador Mike Froman who was the previous U.S. TR. Let me just put it this way. I have the highest respect for Ambassador Froman as a person. I actually knew him in my previous life as a journalist. However, when it comes to how different countries characterize negotiations, each country talks its own book. I will reiterate that we have not received, neither from Ambassador Froman nor from Secretary Ross, an offer sufficient for Canada to consider. I know the member opposite would agree with me.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as the member opposite knows well, it is up to the Department of Commerce how it chooses to make its assessments. The Department of Commerce chooses which companies to assess and also chooses which companies' requests for a voluntary submission to accept.
I am pleased the Department of Commerce accepted Irving's request for a voluntary submission. As the member opposite suggests, the very low rate at which commerce has assessed Irving is an argument that I absolutely have been using in pointing out that even by the judgment of commerce, there is really no fare there for the U.S. to protest.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the member for Prince Albert and I are friends and share a great interest in many things, including agriculture of the prairie provinces. I do not mind at all if he addresses me directly. I know those are not the rules.
I am, though, a bit surprised that the member opposite, particularly in the presence of his colleague, the member for Niagara West, some great wine country, would seem to be arguing the case for foreign wine producers against our own domestic industry.
Canada is a very open market when it comes to the sale of imported wines here. We are a terrific market for the United States. With CETA, we will be an even better market than we are today for Europe. Our foreign partners have no cause for complaint.
I am very proud of the great wines produced in Canada, and those are the ones I prefer to drink.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I would like to start by thanking the member for New Brunswick Southwest for her very hard work. I would like to tell her, through you, Mr. Chair, something I have not told her directly. Her story about the very close cross-border integration in her community is one I shared just yesterday with Senator Susan Collins of Maine. She told me that she grew up 20 miles from the Canadian border and is also very familiar with towns where hospitals, fire departments, and schools are shared across the border. That is a very important story about the Canada-U.S. relationship, and I really want to thank the member for telling that story so eloquently.
When it comes to NAFTA, as the member said, it is indeed good practice in trade to update and modernize trade agreements. We are currently in the midst of updating our trade agreements with Chile, with Israel, and with the EFTA countries. It is simply what is done. In fact, when it comes to NAFTA, by our count, there have been 11 significant modifications to this very important agreement since it first entered into force, so we very much welcome the opportunity to modernize the agreement. As the member suggested, the whole e-commerce Internet space is certainly one area ripe for some positive advances.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I promised myself earlier today, when the member for Essex introduced me to her parents, who are here, that I would recognize them. There may not be that many Canadians watching us tonight, but I bet those two Canadians are and are very proud of their daughter.
Our government strongly believes in a progressive trade agenda that very much includes environmental and labour rights and also women's rights. That is something we have been advancing in all our trade agreements. I see some real opportunities in NAFTA modernization to raise the environmental and labour standards.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the NAFTA negotiations have not yet begun, and the 90-day clock has not started. I am very clear that I am not going to put all of Canada's cards on the table at this early moment, but I do want to assure the member opposite, and all Canadians, that I am very committed to strengthening—
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