QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Afghanistan Crisis
December 6, 2022
Government leader, yesterday, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights began hearing testimony on Canada’s anti-terrorism rules that bar aid groups from working in Afghanistan. Committee members heard from lawyers, professors and charity organizations, but none of the three Liberal cabinet ministers accepted our invitation. Instead, Ministers Lametti, Mendicino and Sajjan sent bureaucrats from Public Safety Canada, Department of Justice Canada and Global Affairs Canada.
Senator Gold, we were told repeatedly during yesterday’s hearing that the government is seized — I repeat, because we heard it five times, seized — with this issue, but nothing is being done. I shudder to think, when the government is not seized with certain issues, what happens with those issues. Meanwhile, our allies have modified their rules to allow humanitarian aid to reach Afghanistan.
What are they hiding? Why send us bureaucrats limited by red tape and who, in some cases, have been in their current positions for only six months?
The government has nothing to hide, senator. Thank you for your question. My understanding is that the ministers to whom you referred all had prior commitments when they received the invitation from the committee. Officials from the Department of Justice and Public Safety Canada attended the meeting and provided the information that they were qualified to provide, and I trust that it was helpful to the committee. The government recognizes the important work that is undertaken by the committee and looks forward to the committee’s report on this important issue.
Senator Gold, we heard from Professor Kent Roach from the University of Toronto, who took the time to explain to the Human Rights Committee that, in his professional opinion, this government is misinterpreting its own laws and that the needless suffering in Afghanistan could be avoided with solutions such as exemptions on non-prosecution agreements.
Senator Gold, Professor Roach offered three solid and simple solutions to put an end to the restrictions on humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Why has the government not explored these avenues sooner?
Thank you for the question. Professor Roach is, indeed, a notable expert, and the government and the country have benefited from his engagement with these and many other issues over the years. The government will look seriously at his recommendations as it values the work that the committee does and those witnesses that come before it.
