44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 16, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/16/22 7:51:30 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for Edmonton Strathcona for her dedicated commitment to this issue. I think we share a lot of the same commitment and passion for what really is an absolute crisis in the world.
One thing I would ask my colleague is about the $250 million a year figure she cited. I know the minister earlier pointed to $514 million just for this current crisis, plus the $100 million we are giving to the African Development Bank, but even last year there was $306 million given only to the World Food Programme. That does not include everything else we are doing in food assistance. Could she perhaps clarify the statistic there?
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- Jun/16/22 8:53:23 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am very happy that we are having this debate this evening. It could be one of the most important debates that we have in this House.
We know that Russia's unjustifiable and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has had an immediate impact on the food security and nutrition of the world's most vulnerable people. This is adding to the existing food crisis caused by the pandemic and by climate change.
Canada is supporting organizations like the World Food Programme and other Canadian and international partners such as Nutrition International and its partners that are part of the Humanitarian Coalition, to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to those most in need, as well as to assist in preparedness and response efforts, minimizing disruptions to food supply chains.
We have provided $514 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the current global food crisis in over 40 countries. For example, in 2021, Canada was the fourth-largest donor to the World Food Programme, providing more than $306 million in humanitarian funding to support its emergency operations around the world. We will continue to work with our partners to see what more we can do to help the most vulnerable.
In addition, Canada is recognized globally as a leader in evidence-based nutrition programs. It is not enough just to fill tummies. We have to provide the right kind of food and the right kind of nutrition in order to prevent malnutrition. We must think of maternal and children's health.
Canada is in fact leading in technical assistance and innovation and support in this regard, but we know that because of Vladimir Putin and his refusal to allow food out of critical Ukrainian ports like Odesa, his unjustifiable war is driving up the global prices for wheat, maize, oilseeds and other grains. Consequently, millions of the most vulnerable are being forced into food insecurity. It is why Canada has been focused on food security since the beginning of the crisis.
Since March, we have contributed $70 million worth of aid to Ukraine through the World Food Programme. We have helped hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians by providing meals at shelters, emergency food kits, food hampers and cash.
We know that existing food crises are being exacerbated by this conflict. This is why we continue to support the worst-hit regions, for example, $229 million to Syria and surrounding countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq; $143 million to Afghanistan to support food assistance, clean water and health; and $73 million to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
We are also providing $82 million in humanitarian and development assistance to address growing food and nutrition needs and to help avert famine in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions. These are just a few examples of the work that Canada is doing. Finding long-term solutions to the food security crisis in the global south is an absolute priority for our government.
That is why we take an approach in which we empower local farmers so that they can have the capacity to feed their people. The Minister of International Development recently announced a $100-million contribution to the African Development Bank. This money will be used to help small and medium agri-food enterprises grow, with a particular focus on agri SMEs run by or benefiting women. Investing in agri SMEs, half of which are run by women, will not only help with current local food shortages, but will also build long-term economic activity and opportunities. As these agri SMEs scale up, they could also start providing food supply to neighbouring regions and hopefully contribute to greater regional stability. With time, a growing agriculture sector in Africa can contribute to Africa being an economic powerhouse.
I want to be clear. Canada is a key player in the fight against global food insecurity. We will continue to work with our partners internationally and on the ground to see what more we can do to help the most vulnerable.
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- Jun/16/22 8:59:06 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would disagree with the premise of my hon. colleague's question. Anyone who looked on the ground and talked to our partners, including our multilateral partners, would see that Canada is very much present. In fact, we are leading. As I mentioned, we are the fourth-largest donor to the World Food Programme.
We continue to lead, particularly on innovation. The very farmers whom my hon. colleagues are talking about are the ones who are leading the kinds of innovations that are leading to the long-term resolution to food insecurity globally.
When it comes to our feminist international assistance policy, Canada has once again taken a leading role in the world and is respected worldwide because of it.
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- Jun/16/22 9:00:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is what I said previously about innovation and Canadian farmers and Canadian NGOs that are on the ground.
I spoke recently with the Humanitarian Coalition, whose partners are doing incredibly important innovative work around the world, using Canadian expertise, and also listening to the small-scale farmers internationally. We have projects looking at women farmers who are building co-operatives and building solutions within the global south. That is one of the key things that Canada has been particularly good at doing. It is ensuring that the expertise that is there is allowed to scale up and is potentially going to be part of the larger solution in the long term.
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- Jun/16/22 9:02:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for her passion and her important work in this regard. She and I have very similar backgrounds in international development.
In fact, our feminist international assistance policy and our national action plan on that have been in place. We are celebrating the fifth anniversary this year, and it is actually creating a change on the ground. Those very women whom the member is talking about who are the most impacted are also the solution. We need to be listening to the women in the global south and making sure that we are scaling up a lot of their efforts.
She quoted Anne Frank, and she is absolutely right. The fact is that we need to end global hunger. The sustainable development goals are central to everything that we do, including ending global hunger, because as long as someone is hungry, she cannot go to school and she is not going to be healthy. Everything else depends on ending global hunger.
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- Jun/16/22 9:17:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think we all agree in the House about the illegal and egregious genocide that is happening against the Ukrainian people. Yevheniya Kravchuk is one of the MPs who was here from Ukraine this week. In her remarks, she said that Putin was relying on democracies thinking that democracies are weak because we are under pressure when our populations have inflation, increased food prices and increased fuel prices, and he thinks this is going to cause us to have pressure from our populations and therefore not be as resolute.
Could my colleague comment on the fact that the food prices, fuel prices and inflation happening around the world and here in Canada are very much because of what Putin is doing in Ukraine? What are his thoughts on that?
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- Jun/16/22 10:22:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my friend from Saanich—Gulf Islands for making the incredibly crucial link that all of this is interconnected, whether it is climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic or the conflicts around the world, not just what is happening in Ukraine. The fact is that all of these things are creating a perfect storm that is leading not just to this incredible food crisis, but to a crisis in democracy and a crisis that is having an unbelievable impact on the people of the world. I wonder if she could elaborate on that.
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- Jun/16/22 10:38:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to compliment my hon. colleague for talking about the demining that is needed in Ukraine. I wonder if he is aware that Canada has provided over $450 million in the last two decades to demining. I also wonder if he is aware of the importance of the assistance we are also providing to Ukraine and the fact that, through DND, we have tremendous expertise in this regard.
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