44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 8, 2022 02:00PM
Madam Speaker, in my riding, carbon capture and storage is very important. It is a technology that is working, that is being supported by the private sector.
The NDP has constantly attacked carbon capture and storage, claiming that it is not working, when we know that, in fact, it already is working. It is an important way of working with industry to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
I wonder if the Bloc could share its perspective on the important role that carbon capture and storage can play as part of our efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
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Madam Speaker, it does appear that the parliamentary secretary was barking up the wrong tree here. The problem for the Prime Minister is that he appears to think that trees will plant themselves. The parliamentary secretary knows that trees can plant themselves under certain circumstances, so they are unlike budgets, which cannot balance themselves, as we have demonstrated.
I know that other members, such as myself, would have liked to speak to this bill at greater length. We will not be able to because we are under a very draconian programming effort by the government to limit debate on this bill.
I wonder if the member can comment on the overall fiscal framework of the government. Its spending is out of control, with more debt run up under the Prime Minister than all previous prime ministers in the country's history up until now. There is great concern. Members of the government think this is funny. It is not funny. My children are going to have to pay off the debt being run up today by the NDP-Liberal government. Can the member comment on the lack of any targets for any balanced budget at any point in time?
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- Jun/8/22 11:48:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Minister of International Development assumed his role after significant concerns were raised about the approach he took while he was defence minister to respond to sexual harassment and assault allegations within Canada's military. It is important that he be willing to take a different approach in his new portfolio and raise the bar in calling international organizations to account for instances of sexual violence that occur within them.
International development can involve situations of significant power imbalance, so measures to prevent exploitation and to hold perpetrators accountable are crucial. We have seen too many instances of failures in this regard.
Earlier I asked the minister about serious allegations of exploitation and violence at the World Health Organization in Congo and also at UNWRA. He noted in response that he had raised those concerns with the WHO, saying, “they assured me that they are working on this.” I would suggest that a serious response to sexual violence requires more than taking the WHO at its word.
It is important to review the context. During an ebola outbreak in the DRC between 2018 and 2020, over 150 women came forward to report facing sexual exploitation by those involved in the WHO response, and 150-plus victims going on record suggests a deep and wide systematic failure of the WHO. The WHO's own report found at least 21 alleged perpetrators who were directly employed by them, including international and local staff.
Various countries have pushed the WHO to improve its procedures, and the EU responded by halting funds to the WHO in the DRC. This shows how serious our allies and partners are taking this matter, and rightly so.
Despite this scandal, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was reelected as the head of the WHO earlier this year. Now, Ghebreyesus has not exactly had an auspicious time as WHO head. In 2017, he announced, and then rescinded, an offer to make Robert Mugabe a WHO goodwill ambassador. It is hard to argue that someone is interested in taking a firm line against corruption and exploitation when they want to make Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador for their organization. So much for setting an example to employees. Notwithstanding all of the things that have happened since, such as cozying up to the Chinese government and launching baseless attacks against Taiwan, this issue of Robert Mugabe revealed enough.
International development should be about empowering everyday people who are victims of violence and oppression to take control of their lives and not about cozying up to dictators who claim that building their profile will somehow make the world a better place. The WHO needs to change, but does not seem to have the capacity or the leadership to turn itself around, and our response has not been as strong as our allies.
I would like the government to clarify how it plans to hold the WHO, leaders at the WHO and individual perpetrators of violence to account. It is not good enough for the minister to say that the man who wanted to make Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador has assured him of his personal goodwill towards victims.
My original question also mentioned allegations of sexual misconduct at UNWRA. These allegations were the subject of an investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, which provided an internal review. The report concluded that there was no evidence of sexual misconduct, contrary to the allegations, however the report remains confidential and internal to the UN.
Although it is fair to acknowledge that not all allegations are borne out by a full investigation, I wonder if the government finds it acceptable that these allegations were dismissed on the basis of an internal investigation or that the resulting report was never made public. A full, unredacted version was never even shared with member states. Does this way of dealing with such allegations conform to what the government considers an appropriate standard for responding to allegations of sexual assault?
I hope that the minister or the parliamentary secretary will be able to provide a more detailed response about the position of the government and concrete action taken on these important matters.
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- Jun/8/22 11:54:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, respectfully, the member shared general values but did not respond to important specific questions.
Our allies have taken stronger responses to ensure that the rubber meets the road here, for instance, by withdrawing funds to the WHO in the DRC. Expressing these aspirations and concerns is not lining up with the strong measures being taken by our allies.
I also asked the member a specific question following up on the issue of UNWRA. Does the government believe it is acceptable when there is an internal investigation where we are told the allegations are without merit, and yet there is no publication of that report and it is not even made available to member states?
The same question applies in the case of the WHO scandal. When there are scandals involving alleged sexual misconduct at UN agencies, they have internal reports done and the reports are not made public or even shared with member states. Is that really a victim-centred approach? Does the government think that is an acceptable approach?
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