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Results: 16 - 30 of 270
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you for this question.
Welcome to the committee. I think this is the first time we've spoken here, you and I.
I can assure you that after Mr. Khashoggi's murder, no new arms export permits to Saudi Arabia were granted. That's what we have announced, that's what we have done and continue to do. It's a matter we take very seriously. We are looking at the situation.
I would like to highlight something important. Agnès Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur, is currently investigating the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. I spoke with Ms. Callamard on the phone, and I have also met with her at the UN. We fully support her work.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
That's an important question. One of the elements of this revision is the investigation into the death of Jamal Khashoggi. That's why I talked about Agnès Callamard's work. The death of Jamal Khashoggi is one of the causes that inspired the press rights conference in England, which I have already mentioned. Jeremy Hunt, the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and I announced the conference in France during the G7 meeting. We mentioned that the death of Jamal Khashoggi was one of the elements that inspired the conference.
You know, from speaking in the House, that the war in Yemen is one of the issues we're working very hard on. This is a significant part of this big issue. A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with Martin Griffiths. Canada is strongly committed to the process. With Mr. Griffiths, we are looking for a way to reach a ceasefire, to find peace in Yemen.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
You said there were 30 seconds left?
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Okay.
So I'll raise two points. I share your concerns about the war in Yemen. I think this is a crucial issue and a very important part of this discussion. For that reason, Canada is very committed to this. I would like to stress something, because it's important—
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
May I finish my intervention?
From the moment Jamal Khashoggi died, new export permits were not granted. This is an important fact.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
I am very happy to talk about this.
Maybe I'll start with a phone conversation I had this morning before coming to the committee, where I had a chance to speak to Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State.
Because the section 232 tariffs are on national security grounds, this was an issue that was appropriate to raise with the Secretary of State. Also, I do want to thank my colleague Harjit Sajjan who raised the issue very effectively with the Pentagon.
This morning I had a chance to thank Secretary Pompeo for the work he did on this, which I think was considerable.
I think this is really a story of our country being united, of our country being persistent, of our country understanding that facts matter and of our country being resolute.
You guys should talk to Steve afterwards, because I'll be interested in his view, but I think the lifting of the tariffs actually started on July 1, when our retaliatory measures took effect. It was the largest trade action that Canada had taken since the Second World War. It was a clear sign that Canada would act in response.
It was also important that we took that action, as I believe the Prime Minister put it at the time, more in sorrow than in anger, that we understood that this action was harmful to everybody, that having tariffs between Canada and the U.S. just made no sense and hurt people on both sides of the border, and that—
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
The fact that we acted strongly from the outset was absolutely essential. I know there were voices in Canada that called on us publicly to drop the retaliation. I'm glad we didn't listen to those voices.
The retaliation was difficult. It was difficult to stay the course, but that was absolutely essential.
I do want to thank another person and I'd like to just mention a couple of other things.
We were able to work very closely with the leaders of the steel and aluminum sectors, both industry and unions. We had a meeting of the steel CEOs last Friday in Toronto. Steve was there, as was Ambassador MacNaughton. The steel CEOs said to me and Steve that they would miss our sometimes nearly weekly Friday get-togethers. I do really want to commend both of those sectors for doing the homework that was necessary for us to support them. They worked hard. They got together.
I'll also mention Catherine Cobden. She is the head of the steel association and she did a really good job of bringing those people together.
A final person who I think it's worth mentioning is Senator Chuck Grassley, the chair of the U.S. Senate finance committee. He has been very clear about his view that the section 232 tariffs needed to be lifted. He wrote an important op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on April 29, where he said explicitly that NAFTA could not be ratified in the U.S. Senate as long as the tariffs were in place.
I have been in close touch with Senator Grassley. I've met him twice in person and spoken to him often on the phone. Our ambassador, David MacNaughton, and our embassy have been working closely with him and his staff. His strong work and his strong credibility really also made an important difference.
I emphasize that because it's important for us to recognize a good trade deal—
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Sorry for letting my enthusiasm about section 232 take over.
Yes, the Columbia River Treaty is obviously an important treaty for B.C. in particular, but also for all of Canada. I was recently in Castlegar in the Columbia River basin.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
One important thing we were able to do and announce there is that, for the first time in a Canadian treaty negotiation, the indigenous people will be represented at the table, sitting on the Canadian side—
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Yes. Thank you for the question. It's a really important issue.
The situation in Venezuela is a tragedy. Venezuela not so long ago was among the richest countries in our hemisphere, and it has now been reduced to a terrible state of human misery. There has been, by the Maduro regime, a systematic and intentional dismantling of Venezuelan democracy. That is why we, the hemispheric partners of Venezuela, had to act, and we are acting.
On a few specifics, I can announce a few things that are happening. Next Monday, June 3, we will have a meeting in New York of three countries of the Lima Group—Canada, Chile and Peru—with the European-led ICG, led by Federica Mogherini. The foreign minister of Portugal will also be there. That's an effort to continue our work with international partners.
It's important because I think one of the really central positive facts in a tragic situation over the past few months has been the very wide international recognition of Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela. The European Union and the European Union countries have been central in that, so it's an important meeting.
We will also be having a meeting of the Lima Group in Guatemala on Thursday, June 6, which I will be attending, to continue the conversation.
Obviously one of the issues I discussed with Secretary Pompeo this morning was the situation in Venezuela, and we continue to be working closely with our American partners.
I'd like to mention for Canadians two other aspects of this. I spoke about—and it is really an overwhelming concern of mine—the threat to liberal democracy in the world today and the rise of authoritarianism. In a world that is facing that challenge, our hemisphere has been doing pretty well. You could even describe our hemisphere as one of the refuges for liberal democracy in the world. I think that's one of the reasons it is so important for Canada and for our hemispheric partners to stand up in support of democracy and human rights in Venezuela.
The second element of the Lima Group I want to quickly mention is that I really think a key tool of diplomacy and foreign policy today and in the years to come is assembling multilateral coalitions of like-minded countries to work on pressing issues. The Lima Group is a fantastic example of that, and I am really proud of the countries of our hemisphere coming together to do that work, so I really thank our Lima Group partners.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you for the question.
I do know about the Rohingya community in your riding. It is a small but mighty Canadian community. I've met with leaders of that community.
I'm glad you mentioned their specific work, because I think a strength of Canada is the fact that we have many Canadians who are personally connected and engaged with so many parts of the world. I have learned a lot about the Rohingya—
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
—from Canadian Rohingyas.
I'm also really glad—and I'd like to say this to everyone on the committee—that our country and our Parliament were able to acknowledge what has happened to the Rohingya as a genocide. It's a very important step, and I'm glad for us, as a country, that we did it.
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Results: 16 - 30 of 270 | Page: 2 of 18

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