QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Human Rights in Myanmar
April 26, 2023
My question is for Senator Gold. On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military took power in a coup, abruptly halting the country’s fragile transition toward democracy. More than 16,000 people have been arrested, many tortured and executed. Almost 700,000 persecuted people, mostly Rohingya, have been forced to abandon their homes and are living in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh.
The economy is in crisis. Public services have collapsed. UN rapporteurs assert that the Tatmadaw military’s actions meet criteria for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Canada has responded to this crisis, for the most part, via coordinated sanctions with international partners, with one notable difference: the oil and gas industry.
Gas revenues sustain the Myanmar’s Tatmadaw junta. Last month, Chevron, the American multinational energy corporation, announced it was selling its 41% stake in Myanmar’s Yadana gas field project to Et Martem Holdings, based in the tax haven of Bermuda and a subsidiary of Edmonton-headquartered MTI Energy. Chevron and TotalEnergies, a French company, previously announced in January that they’re exiting the country.
Senator Gold, how does Canada allow this kind of support for Myanmar’s oil and gas, which props up the Tatmadaw? Why are Canadian companies permitted to invest in this brutal regime in Myanmar?
Thank you. I don’t have a full answer for you, senator, because I’m not aware of the circumstances surrounding the sale, the subsidiary and the offshore company. I don’t want to pretend that I could unravel that without knowing more.
I will say, though — as you properly pointed out — the government has, with its allies, imposed sanctions on the regime and on officials who are responsible for the arms trade, facilitating arms and the like, and more recently — or at least subsequently — announced additional sanctions on individuals, but also including a new prohibition on the export, sale, supply and shipment of aviation fuel, which fuels the Myanmar military regime. That signals to me that the government is aware of the importance of cutting off the oil — in this case, the fuel — that fuels the military power of this regime.
I’ll make inquiries with regard to your question and try to get an answer as quickly as I can.
