Foreign Affairs Committee on May 8th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I'd like to call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 107 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Before we begin, I'd like to remind all members and witnesses in the room of the following important preventive measures.

To prevent disruptive and potentially harmful audio feedback incidents that can cause injuries, all in-person participants are reminded to keep their earpieces away from all microphones at all times. All earpieces have been replaced by a model that greatly reduces the probability of audio feedback. The new earpieces are black in colour, whereas the former earpieces were grey.

When you are not using your earpiece, please place it face down on the middle of the sticker for this purpose, which you will find on the table. Please consult the cards on the table for guidelines to prevent audio feedback incidents. The room layout has been adjusted to increase the distance between microphones and to reduce the chances of feedback from an ambient earpiece.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. I've been assured by the clerk that they have been doing the testing beforehand for connectivity. In accordance with the committee's routine motion concerning connection tests for witnesses, everything has been undertaken, and I'm happy to advise everyone that all is good.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, January 29, 2024, the committee will resume its study of Canada's approach to Africa.

I'd now like to welcome our witnesses.

From the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale, we have Mr. Denis Côté, policy analyst. From the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, we have Mr. Andy Harrington, who is executive director. For the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation, we're happy to have Mr. Philippe Dongier, who is here in person, and he serves as executive director.

Each of you will be provided five minutes for your opening remarks, after which we will proceed with questions from the members. I would ask all witnesses to pay attention. Once you're getting close to your time limit, I will hold this up, which means you have to wrap it up within 10 to 15 seconds. That applies not only when you're doing your opening remarks but also when questions are posed by the members.

All of that having been explained, we will now commence with the witnesses. We will start off with Mr. Côté.

Mr. Côté, the floor is yours. You have five minutes for your opening remarks.

[Denis Côté, Policy Analyst, Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale]

Thank you very much.

I would first like to thank the committee for inviting me as part of this study to testify on behalf of the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale, or AQOCI.

Our association brings together 75 international co-operation and solidarity organizations based in Quebec that work with more than 1,300 local partners in 112 countries around the world to eradicate the causes of poverty and build a world based on the principles of justice, inclusion, equality and respect for human rights.

More than 50 of those organizations are currently active in over 40 countries in Africa. They highly concentrate their activities in the Sahel countries, including Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With respect to Canada's engagement with countries on the African continent, in our view, the current situation does not lend itself to Canada's withdrawal, but rather to reinforced engagement in the region. In the context of a growing number of crises, including political, climate and security crises, it's more important than ever that we support the partners we've been working with for many years and show local communities that Canada stands in solidarity with them in their struggles to eliminate poverty, foster economic development and social justice and combat insecurity and climate change.

Quebec's and Canada's international co-operation organizations have established long-standing partnerships with local groups that give them a thorough understanding of the social realities and real needs of populations in many African communities. This gives them a unique advantage for designing relevant, responsive and effective programs.

Given that certain donor countries have disengaged, particularly in the Sahel region, Canada can step in and could play a leadership role in the Sahel countries and the francophonie in particular. Because of our long history of partnership with these nations, we can contribute significantly to their development and stability. Canada is one of the few countries that can still intervene in the Sahel region precisely because of its respect for local populations and its commitment to working in partnership with them.

In our recent consultations with our members, some mentioned that regions where international co-operation activities have been supported by Canada in the past are already more resilient in the face of the current polycrisis. This shows that our commitment is working and that we need to maintain this commitment where we've already established strong ties.

Beyond its approach, however, Canada's engagement in the region must also involve increased funding.

In 1970, the OECD countries, including Canada, committed to spending 0.7% of their gross national income annually on international assistance. Unfortunately, 54 years later, Canada has barely met half that target. Countries such as Sweden, Norway, Germany and Denmark have achieved it. Others, like Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland, are close. So why is Canada not succeeding? Increased funding is critical to ensure that we have the resources to effectively support development in Africa.

Finally, Canada also has an opportunity to stand out from other international players in the region by ensuring that its businesses behave responsibly on the African continent. We must act now, because there have been too many allegations of human rights violations in recent years. Canada must quickly pass corporate human rights and environmental due diligence legislation to prevent abuses by some of our businesses in Africa and elsewhere in the world. It must also give the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise real investigative powers to compel companies facing allegations of human rights abuses to testify and produce documents. Canada promised to do so when the office was set up.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you, Mr. Côté.

We will now go to Mr. Harrington with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Mr. Harrington, you have five minutes for your opening remarks.

[Andy Harrington, Executive Director, Canadian Foodgrains Bank]

Thank you to the members of the committee for inviting me to participate in this important and timely study. Canada's approach to Africa has been an ongoing discussion, and I'm happy to share some comments on the topic.

As a network of 15 Canadian church-based relief and development agencies, Canadian Foodgrains Bank is delivering food to people in humanitarian crises and helping farmers adapt their farming practices to the changing climate in order to build sustainable food security for the future. An example of this is our ongoing Nature+ project funded by Global Affairs Canada through the partnering for climate initiative.

Now we're undertaking this work in the context of 158 million people in sub-Saharan Africa facing high levels of acute food insecurity and 30 million people acutely malnourished in 2023 alone. Between 2022 and 2023, Canadian Foodgrains Bank implemented 88 projects in 21 African countries, serving over 700,000 people, including responding to the hunger crisis in east Africa as part of the Humanitarian Coalition.

You've heard from witnesses who have testified before this committee about issues of political stability, trade opportunities and advancing and protecting Canadian interests. What is clear from that testimony is that Canada has the opportunity to increase its influence as other powers are seeing theirs decline, but only if we increase our investments in a holistic fashion. We have three recommendations to make.

The first one is the centrality of a comprehensive and strategic humanitarian and development assistance plan. In tackling foreign policy, we need to take account of the three Ds and T: diplomacy, defence, development and trade.

Development is a central element of this matrix and needs to be considered at the same level as the other three. We can't ignore the growing humanitarian and development needs on the continent, given the significant number of persons who are acutely food insecure in sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel.

This committee has already heard testimony from Professor Tieku of Western University, who is saying to fix food insecurity and, chances are, you'll get better stability. I agree with that statement. If development needs are not met, the other Ds and T are in jeopardy.

Saving lives and reducing poverty are not new for Canada. It's what our intelligently applied aid does, but our approach in each region, particularly in Africa, needs to be strategic and not piecemeal. From our own work, Foodgrains Bank has strong evidence that aid is a smart investment.

For example, between 2015 and 2020, with support from the Canadian government, we implemented a project that improved the lives of over 60,000 families in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. The goal was to improve livelihoods for small holding farming households by scaling up conservation agriculture. That's a process that helps build climate resilient food systems.

This project led to improvement in family income, food security and healthier soils, and it built resilience for the future. The project also improved gender equality, both in the field and in marketing, where women's incomes increased by 40%. In fact, in Ethiopia, the government developed a national program to promote conservation agriculture as a result of this project.

I visited the farm of one of the project participants in Ethiopia, a woman called Asnakech Zema, and I saw how this project not only has increased her resource base but has elevated her dignity and stature in the community. She told us, “My family now has food year-round, and they have given us income during the lean months.”

Jane Njeri, a project participant in Kenya, also told us, “Now, after adopting conservation agriculture, we have more food using less land.... We get more than double the amount of food we used to.”

It's apparent that putting in efforts in development and humanitarian assistance not only provides stability but also empowers transformation in communities and nations.

My second recommendation is on mutually beneficial partnership and collaboration. Other witnesses before this committee have pointed to the African Union agenda of 2063 as a guiding strategic document that could and should inform Canada's approach.

I agree that it's not just about what we can get out of the relationship, which has never been Canada's approach or agenda. Rather, it's about assessing how Africa's future is defined and seeing how we can contribute to the goals Africans have set for themselves, which advances our ability to work with them collaboratively across the spectrum of the three Ds and T and as we grow together.

My final recommendation is on the positioning of Canada. Engaging in Africa is in Canada's interest. We've seen China and Russia expanding their influence, with African leaders turning towards them as other countries have turned away.

In this critical time for the future of a continent that has so much to offer the world, Canada is in a unique position to choose to step forward and show what principled leadership could look like. As such, our aid commitments are key to how we are viewed. They stand alongside our diplomatic and trade efforts in not only bolstering our place in the world but also ensuring that, in the years to come, it is a more just and fair one.

Thanks for your attention.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Harrington.

We go now to our third witness, who is here with us today.

Mr. Dongier, welcome. The floor is yours. You have five minutes.

[Philippe Dongier, Executive Director, Centre for International Studies and Cooperation]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Members of the committee, it is an honour to appear before you today on behalf of the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation, or CECI.

CECI has been a player in Canada-Africa co-operation for over 65 years. It is active in 10 countries in West Africa and Central Africa. It is also a partner of Global Affairs Canada, which, through its portfolio of approximately $250 million in Africa, supports women's entrepreneurship, the rights of women and girls, and climate resilience.

Personally, before joining CECI, I worked for almost 20 years at the World Bank, including as regional director in Dar es Salaam, East Africa, and for five years at General Electric in Nairobi.

As you know, Africa is going to become more and more important as a market. It's said that the consuming middle class will include more than 700 million people by 2030. Africa will also become a key producer of strategic mineral resources, a major pool for biodiversity at risk and a significant geopolitical player. Several of the 54 African countries are diversifying their international partnerships, including those with China and Russia. Based on projections, there will be 2.5 billion people in Africa by 2050 and nearly 4 billion by the end of the century, which will represent 40% of humanity.

As Africa grows, more and more of its countries have unstable governance, are affected by conflict, violent extremism and the climate crisis, and are experiencing increasing levels of extreme poverty. We're also seeing a deterioration of conditions for women as we observe an increase in gender-based violence in those countries in particular, as well as a rise in intolerance. It's also projected that by 2050, African cities large and small will be home to nearly a billion more people. In urban centres, 74% of women work in the informal sector with little to no social protection.

With that as a backdrop, I'd like to share with you our three recommendations for the committee's consideration.

The first recommendation is to stay the course on gender equality and climate resilience. CECI applauds the fact that Canada has positioned itself as a leader in gender equality in Africa. We also think that Canada's efforts on climate finance are commendable, and we recommend that these targeted actions be further strengthened. We believe this will contribute to a more prosperous and inclusive world in a sustainable way.

The second recommendation is to support the populations of the central Sahel countries, namely Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad. As you know, Africa itself and these countries want to break free from the colonial legacy. In West Africa, tensions are high with the French government, which is often perceived by many as complicit in a corrupt political elite and exploiting its former colonies. As a number of countries distance themselves from France, it's important that Russia or China not be the only alternative for the Central Sahel countries. There must be a third option. Canada is one country that has the potential to influence over the medium term, and that has to be considered. As a bilingual country and member of the francophonie, Canada has a relatively positive image among those populations, and it has the potential to help them emerge from the crisis. So it's really important to maintain humanitarian and development assistance for the communities in the Central Sahel countries. We believe that a complete withdrawal of Canadian aid would limit Canada's potential to influence over the medium term.

The third recommendation is to have a stronger Canadian identity in the bilateral geographic programs with each country Canada supports. We support Canada's key contributions to multilateral institutions through Global Affairs Canada's multilateral aid section. These institutions play critical roles. However, we're concerned that Global Affairs Canada's bilateral geographic programs make excessive use of these multilateral agencies. We advocate for greater use of Canadian organizations in the delivery of bilateral aid, which we believe would carry several benefits. First, it would provide greater value for every dollar invested and, most importantly, it would ensure greater visibility for Canada. When Global Affairs Canada funds the United Nations Development Programme, for example, no one sees the Canadian contribution. When Global Affairs Canada funds a Canadian organization, Canadian visibility is assured. Funding for UN agencies is done relatively easily and quickly by Global Affairs Canada, as there are few accountability requirements. Conversely, funding Canadian organizations requires slow and cumbersome processes, which often lead Global Affairs Canada to favour the simplest option rather than basing it on an analysis of the value of the money invested and considering the benefits for Canada's visibility. We therefore recommend that consideration be given to simplifying the processes for funding Canadian organizations in Africa, particularly for organizations that have demonstrated low fiduciary risk and successful program delivery.

In closing, we believe that Canada should anticipate Africa's key role in the world of the future and leverage the sympathy it garners from a number of countries. We must focus on connections with the people of Africa and between Canadian and African companies, not just on institutional government support. Canadian organizations directly carry the Canadian flag and often work more effectively and efficiently than multilateral agencies.

I want to emphasize that these recommendations are above all intended to foster a better reputation for Canada with African countries and enhance Canada's ability to influence them.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

We will start off with MP Epp.

You have five minutes.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

I'll begin my questions with Mr. Harrington from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. In the interest of transparency and for the record, I'm a past supporter of the Foodgrains Bank and I was an employee of the Foodgrains Bank prior to being elected. We continue to host a growing project on our farm at home, so I'm familiar with how the organization works.

I know that the proceeds, along with those from 200-some other growing projects, are often matched 4:1 through Canada's humanitarian efforts and through the Food Assistance Convention. I believe the Foodgrains Bank has received clearance or has an agreement with Global Affairs for the renewal of the $25-million block grant.

Can you tell me when you're anticipating the minister's signature? We are in a new fiscal year, and that should hopefully be happening any time. What do you know?

[Andy Harrington]

Thank you, MP Epp. It's good to see you.

What I can say about that grant is it has been in place for decades, actually, through different governments of Canada. It's a key part of Canada's commitment to the Food Assistance Convention. It's $25 million a year.

We had a grant of between 2021 and 2024. It's used for humanitarian food assistance at IPC level 3 and above, which is for critically acute food needs and above around the world. That grant expired on March 31. We had spent a year before then renegotiating with Global Affairs Canada very collaboratively and very much in partnership. We had an external evaluation and it has done very well, so we've agreed on all the parameters of that grant. I believe it has been forwarded to the minister for approval. It was forwarded in October, I believe.

In the meantime, the old grant has expired. We have ongoing and essential programs in places like Syria, Lebanon and Somalia. We're currently using our own resources while waiting for the grant to be signed. We're sure it will be signed shortly, but we would encourage that to happen soon as some of these needs are quite critical.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you.

You talked in your comments about the links between the three Ds and T. Let's talk about the importance of food in Canada's response.

How does food and agriculture fit into our general humanitarian and development response? How important is food? Can you elaborate on your opening comments there?

[Andy Harrington]

Yes.

When we talk about food security, we're talking about the basics of life. When we're talking about the need for food and the importance of food within that, not being hungry is a basic human need. When we see hunger happen, we basically see conflicts as a result. You can see that right around the world at the moment. When you're looking at the necessity of food, it's basically a building block not just of the international food security system but of humanity.

As we think about the support in places like Sudan at the moment, for example, which has 18 million people, it's one country in the world that has more critically hungry people than any other. The lack of food is driving conflict, it's driving migration and it's driving insecurity in terms of people's well-being. Having the ability to provide food, either by emergency assistance or by long-term development programming, which we do in many parts of the world, is critical to keeping the peace and providing stability in the international system.

I think we can all see what's happening. I know we're talking about Africa today, but we can see this in Gaza. We can see it in Yemen. We can see it all over the world at the moment. The lack of food drives conflict, it drives insecurity and it drives migration. Sadly, in some places, it's almost being weaponized to increase that instability. That's why food is of such critical importance not just in development but in international stability. That totally links to the three Ds and T, so if we're going to be willing to have—

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you. If I can, I'll get another question in.

I know that dollars are scarce. What ideas would you have so that we can improve the efficiency of our working together, of the government and of this whole space, so that more dollars are actually used directly for the aid and for the betterment of Canada and our partners around the world?

[Andy Harrington]

That's a great question.

First of all, I think it's a matter of simplifying the process. There's a grants and contributions simplification process that Global Affairs Canada is undertaking at the moment. We're encouraging that process. The number of obligations, regulations and clauses that are in the agreements that every CSO has to supply to do this work is really quite extreme. I know that everyone's aware of that, and we need to simplify the process.

Second, I think we need to be thinking about a wider context for food security. We talk about food assistance, and we talk about development. There are many places in which we're doing emergency aid that could transition into longer-term aid if we simplified the processes, particularly at Global Affairs Canada. These processes are often siloed. We do emergency assistance over here. We do long-term development over here. In many places, we could actually have a transformation from one to the other. We've proven that in our humanitarian recovery and development projects.

We need to be thinking on a wider context of how we can do development—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I'm afraid we're over time. We're going to have to go to the next question.

Next, we go to MP Chatel. You have five minutes.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

It's exciting to hear you speak, Mr. Harrington. I'd like to invite you to explain to us what you mean in concrete terms when you talk about long-term development of the agricultural sector for better food security.

We often hear that African countries are the most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, such as droughts. Witnesses have also said that Canada had the agricultural technology and know-how to help our farmers adapt to climate change. For example, they're developing technologies and using more resistant species, grains and seeds.

How could Canada contribute to this long-term development, which is absolutely crucial?

[Andy Harrington]

That's a great question.

As well as the technological side that we've talked about there, one of the things we have to recognize is that there are many things we can do in terms of farming practices. The Canadian Foodgrains Bank has a team of agriculture and livelihood technical advisers who work though Canada with local partners on projects that build climate-resilient food systems.

I'll tell you about two quick things.

First, our Nature+ program in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique and on the borders of Zimbabwe is working in reforestation, reclamation of soils, soil health, soil fertility and building new markets in areas that had been completely degraded.

Part of it isn't dealing with huge amounts of technology. Part of it is actually using local knowledge, combined with the knowledge we have, in order to build resilient food systems that produce more, grow better yields and are actually better in a climate context. Our conservation agriculture program is another version of that.

We have to recognize that climate change is having tremendous implications for Africans. People are being driven from the land, so it's really important that Canada use its expertise in all the ways it can in order to help provide those climate-resilient food systems that will see Africans become more resilient to the emergencies that they're currently facing.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

That's very enlightening. Thank you very much.

Mr. Dongier, in your presentation you talked about the importance of biodiversity, not only for Africans, but for all of us who live on the same planet. We heard Mr. Harrington say that it was very important that degraded environments be restored.

Could you give us more details on what assistance Canada can provide to stabilize biodiversity and regenerate degraded environments?

[Philippe Dongier]

As I'm sure you know, Africa has ecosystem resources that contribute to global biodiversity, even more so than the Amazon. So there's a massive amount of capital in Africa that's very much at risk. It's an essential asset for Africa and for humanity. It's being put at risk in particular by rapid population growth, which means people will need to consume a lot more agri-food products, and by declining poverty, which will also lead to more consumption.

We know that expanding agricultural land cuts down forests and degrades the land. This is a major factor that will contribute to the decline of biodiversity in Africa in the decades to come. It's essential that Africa find ways to increase its agri-food production so that it can provide better food for more people, but in a way that doesn't hinder biodiversity too much.

There's a lot going on right now in that area. For example, our organization has a project with the University of Guelph called the Bar Code of Living. It measures biodiversity using environmental DNA. This technology makes it possible to measure the level of biodiversity on a time scale in a low-cost manner. We can truly objectively see whether biodiversity is being conserved or not. The idea is to find ways to fund communities, local governments and even companies taking positive action on biodiversity. In other words, we're piloting methods to measure biodiversity and tying it to incentives to make sure that agriculture grows without causing too much harm to biodiversity. I think that's a major contribution that Canada and its partners can make.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

That's fantastic.

I have another question for all witnesses who would like to answer it.

We've heard there's a lot of bureaucracy in the processing of applications for the various grants. In addition, people from Global Affairs Canada told us that they were undertaking a project to overhaul grants and contributions.

Do you have any thoughts on that? How do you think the department should approach this issue so that it can more effectively provide aid to African countries?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Please respond in 20 seconds if you can.

[Philippe Dongier]

I'd like to highlight the possibility of making greater use of Canadian organizations to deliver aid. Currently, grants are awarded mainly to UN agencies, as it is a very easy process for Global Affairs Canada. Conversely, entering into contribution agreements with Canadian organizations is a slow and complicated process. That's why we do less of it and why we rely instead on UN agencies for more than two thirds of our bilateral aid. I think Canada needs to review the way things are done and simplify the process to keep the rules of the game fair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

We next go to MP Bergeron.

You have five minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here. This has been a fascinating exchange, especially the part about funding local organizations. I'll come back to that. I'd like to start with another issue.

Mr. Dongier, you clearly made the point that Africa is important for demographic and economic reasons as well as for the francophonie, and that Canada isn't doing all it could there. None of that is up for debate. We don't really know what Canada's vision is going forward. Will it have some kind of strategy or framework or policy? As officials told us here a few days ago, nobody really knows what to call this Africa plan. People seem to be making it up as they go along.

We also don't know what kind of budget will be available to implement the policy, framework, strategy or whatever. Last year, for the first time in decades, the federal government reduced its official development assistance contribution. We're now a long way from the 0.7% target. I talked about this last Monday, when the Minister of International Development and Global Affairs Canada officials appeared before the committee to discuss the estimates, and I was told that Canada had never committed to meeting the 0.7% of GDP target.

I'd like to hear from Mr. Dongier and then Mr. Côté on this.

Is it your understanding that Canada has not committed to meeting the 0.7% target?

[Philippe Dongier]

I can check and get back to you, but I believe a commitment was made more than 40 or 50 years ago.

As several people have pointed out today and at other committee meetings that I've watched, there is currently an opportunity for Canada to have a greater influence going forward, particularly in West Africa. There really is a vacuum at the moment. These countries want to pursue relationships with countries like Canada, but right now it's like they have a choice between France and Russia and that's it. I'm exaggerating a bit, but that's the feeling.

That means now would be a good time for Canada to step up its involvement in Africa, perhaps by devoting additional resources and taking on a more serious role. Canada is highly respected and could play a transformative role in a part of the world that has major growth potential but also the potential to become unstable. Canada can and should make a major contribution.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you very much.

What do you think, Mr. Côté?