StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-February 28, 2011, 3:00 p.m.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Operator: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the media update on the situation in Libya conference call. Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs. Bienvenue à l’appel conférence mise à jour sur la situation en Libye. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Ms. Melissa Lantsman. Je cède maintenant la parole à Mme Melissa Lantsman. Please go ahead.
Melissa Lantsman: Bonjour, tout le monde. Sorry we’re a little bit late calling from Geneva. Just want to pass it over to Minister Cannon who will read a brief statement and take your questions afterwards. Minister Cannon, go ahead.
Good afternoon, everyone. Over the last week, I have been travelling and meeting my counterparts on the pressing issues of the day, in particular the situation in Libya. Last Wednesday in New York, I gave an address to the Council on Foreign Relations about the depth and the breadth of the Canada-U.S. relation.
I continued to Rome where I met my counterpart, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to discuss the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Now while there, I spoke on the phone with British Foreign Minister Hague and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton to pave the way for the international response to the situation in Libya as well as our primary objective of ensuring that Canadians were able to evacuate safely.
I joined the Governor General on a visit to Kuwait which marked the 50th anniversary of the creation of the state of Kuwait and the 20th anniversary of the liberation from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 1991. As well, I met with the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, the Indian Foreign Minister as well as the Jordanian Foreign Minister. I had a brief meeting with the Secretary General of the Arab League.
Today, in Geneva, I met once again Foreign Minister Hague as well as Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia and Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa of Mexico. The Middle East and North Africa was once again the main topic of our discussions.
I gave a speech at the Conference on Disarmament which comes at the end of Canada’s presidency. At that – at a time in our history when the threat of nuclear proliferation is alarming, we must move forward a body that has been deadlocked for far too long.
Later, I conveyed to the Human Rights Council here in Geneva Canada’s profound concern over the situation in Libya. I told the Council that there is no longer a place in the world or in our time for megalomaniacal and bloodthirsty dictators.
In the past few days, the international community has witnessed appalling images from Libya as the Gadhafi regime carried out brutal attacks against its own people and this violence must stop.
Canada acted quickly and robustly. On February 26th, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1970 on the situation in Libya. Canada will be among the first countries to implement the binding obligations called for in the Council’s Resolution. But our government is doing farther than the actions proposed by the UN. Our government has already taken urgent steps to implement the resolution, including an assets freeze and a travel ban on the members of the Gadhafi regime. We also called on the Libyan government to facilitate the departure of those foreign nationals caught up in this tragedy.
To date, Canada has evacuated close to 300 citizens safely from Libya by chartered flights by military aircraft and with the cooperation of our like-minded friends. Our government has assisted a number of third party nationals to leave Libya and will continue to cooperate with others to ensure the safety and security of Canadians and others affected by the crisis.
I now will take some questions.
Operator: Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star 1. Si vous désirez poser une question, appuyez sur étoile 1. The first question is from Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail. Please go ahead.
Question: Good evening, Minister. Today, the French Prime Minister François Fillon said that planes are leaving with doctors and nurses and medical supplies on a humanitarian mission to Benghazi and British Prime Minister Cameron said that he’s working with allies on a no-fly zone. So I wonder if I could ask you is Canada supporting both of those measures? Are we willing to take part in those measures and what plans are we making to take part in either a humanitarian mission or a no-fly zone enforcement?
Hon. Lawrence Cannon: I think in terms of the no-fly zone, Campbell, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus among allies as of yet. Those discussions are ongoing between parties and I’ve met with a number of my colleagues and obviously, as I pointed out, there’s no consensus there. The UN Resolution obviously as well calls for humanitarian aid. So we’re very supportive of the fact that the French will be going forward with that. We certainly are prepared — and I’ve mentioned this today — we’re certainly prepared to give a hand in that regard and I think as the days go forward we’ll be in a better position to appreciate the different options that are there as they’re being more refined.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question est de Emmanuelle Latraverse, Radio-Canada. À vous la parole.
Question: M. Cannon, je veux revenir à la charge sur la question du no-fly zone, entre autres. Quand vous dites qu’il y a pas de consensus à l’échelle internationale, je veux bien mais pouvez-vous nous dire quelle est la position du Canada? Quelles sont vos inquiétudes, vos craintes, vos réflexions quant à la pertinence d’en imposer un?
L’hon. Lawrence Cannon: Bien, déjà, Emmanuelle, c’est un effort qui est extrêmement compliqué et très complexe à organiser. C’est une chose de dire un no-fly mais c’est un autre élément d’être capable de l’imposer, de le mettre en application et de le mettre en vigueur. Alors dans ce contexte-là il reste bien trop d’éléments qui sont encore -- qui sont encore peu connus et c’est pour ça que je voudrais pas m’aventurer aujourd’hui pour vous dire si le Canada appuie ou n’appuie pas. On n’a pas encore suffisamment d’information à cet égard.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question Mike Lansfied (sic), Canadian Press. Please go ahead.
Question: Good evening, Minister. The Chief Prosecutor of International Criminal Court strongly suggested today that the behaviour by the Gadhafi government and its forces could constitute a crime against humanity. Where does Canada stand on this and what role do you see for the ICC in any of this moving forward?
Hon. Lawrence Cannon: Well, today, at the -- Mike, at the Conference on Human – I’m sorry, on the Human Rights Council, indeed I mentioned that we are very supportive of this initiative and we would obviously be in agreement, total agreement with any resolution that came forward that would bring Gadhafi to the authorities of the International Court.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question, Audrey Roy à Radio-Canada. À vous la parole.
Question: Oui, bonjour. Donc j’ai parlé avec des Canadiens de tour de la Libye et certains se questionnent sur le travail de l’Ambassade canadienne, disent qu’ils manquent de communications, n’ont pas été suffisamment informés. Je voudrais avoir votre réaction là-dessus, s’il-vous-plaît.
L’hon. Lawrence Cannon: Bien je pense que l’objectif premier c’est de s’assurer que l’on puisse sortir en toute sécurité les Canadiens. Tout près de 300 Canadiens maintenant ont été évacués de cette zone-là et, comme vous le savez, on collabore avec d’autres pays pour transporter leurs ressortissants. Vous savez c’est une situation qui est extrêmement complexe et la situation de guerre civile n’est jamais une situation facile pour bien des raisons. Alors, encore une fois, l’Ambassade du Canada a été, comme vous le savez, les opérations ont été suspendues et nous travaillons avec d’autres pays, en particulier les Britanniques, avec les Français, ainsi que les Américains. Mais dans tous les cas vous savez ceux-ci n’ont pas d’équipe en place mais, aussi curieux que ça puisse paraître, aujourd’hui en discutant avec mon collègue Kevin Rudd de l’Australie, ce dernier a féliciter le Canada pour avoir travaillé à évacuer des Australiens d’une part mais aussi toute l’équipe de l’Ambassade de l’Australie à Tripoli.
Alors c’est des considérations qui sont importantes mais on est dans une situation, comme je le mentionnais, de guerre civile ou à peu près appréhendée.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question is from Michael Platt, the Calgary Sun. Please go ahead.
Question: Hi, Minister. I’m asking more about evacuation of Canadian citizens in direct contact with two Albertans stuck in Tripoli. They were given advice by Foreign Affairs yesterday to go to a port this morning where Turkish vessels would hopefully ferry them away and were rejected by the Turkish captain saying no such arrangements had been made. So obviously they’re in a bit of a panic, they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to get out. What other plans are being made? And are you getting the best – the best advice on the ground there to get them out?
Hon. Lawrence Cannon: Well, you know, we have – we have Canadian assets that are in Malta and that fly on a regular basis to go into Tripoli. We are making arrangements with other countries. I think that in the case that you’re mentioning here, the Operations Centre will get in touch with them or close relatives will be able to get in touch with them and if there has been a glitch in the system we’ll see that we can fix it. We’ve, as I mentioned, been able to evacuate close to 300 Canadians and I think everybody from our end as well as from like-minded countries are doing everything that is possible under difficult circumstances, under circumstances, frankly, that are conducive to a civil war and I think that people have to be – have to be – recognize this situation.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes today’s question and answer session. Ceci termine la séance de questions et réponses. Please disconnect your lines at this time. We thank you for your participation. Veuillez maintenant raccrocher votre ligne. Nous vous remercions de votre participation.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Operator: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the media update on the situation in Libya conference call. Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs. Bienvenue à l’appel conférence mise à jour sur la situation en Libye. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Ms. Melissa Lantsman. Je cède maintenant la parole à Mme Melissa Lantsman. Please go ahead.
Melissa Lantsman: Bonjour, tout le monde. Sorry we’re a little bit late calling from Geneva. Just want to pass it over to Minister Cannon who will read a brief statement and take your questions afterwards. Minister Cannon, go ahead.
Good afternoon, everyone. Over the last week, I have been travelling and meeting my counterparts on the pressing issues of the day, in particular the situation in Libya. Last Wednesday in New York, I gave an address to the Council on Foreign Relations about the depth and the breadth of the Canada-U.S. relation.
I continued to Rome where I met my counterpart, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to discuss the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Now while there, I spoke on the phone with British Foreign Minister Hague and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton to pave the way for the international response to the situation in Libya as well as our primary objective of ensuring that Canadians were able to evacuate safely.
I joined the Governor General on a visit to Kuwait which marked the 50th anniversary of the creation of the state of Kuwait and the 20th anniversary of the liberation from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 1991. As well, I met with the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, the Indian Foreign Minister as well as the Jordanian Foreign Minister. I had a brief meeting with the Secretary General of the Arab League.
Today, in Geneva, I met once again Foreign Minister Hague as well as Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia and Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa of Mexico. The Middle East and North Africa was once again the main topic of our discussions.
I gave a speech at the Conference on Disarmament which comes at the end of Canada’s presidency. At that – at a time in our history when the threat of nuclear proliferation is alarming, we must move forward a body that has been deadlocked for far too long.
Later, I conveyed to the Human Rights Council here in Geneva Canada’s profound concern over the situation in Libya. I told the Council that there is no longer a place in the world or in our time for megalomaniacal and bloodthirsty dictators.
In the past few days, the international community has witnessed appalling images from Libya as the Gadhafi regime carried out brutal attacks against its own people and this violence must stop.
Canada acted quickly and robustly. On February 26th, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1970 on the situation in Libya. Canada will be among the first countries to implement the binding obligations called for in the Council’s Resolution. But our government is doing farther than the actions proposed by the UN. Our government has already taken urgent steps to implement the resolution, including an assets freeze and a travel ban on the members of the Gadhafi regime. We also called on the Libyan government to facilitate the departure of those foreign nationals caught up in this tragedy.
To date, Canada has evacuated close to 300 citizens safely from Libya by chartered flights by military aircraft and with the cooperation of our like-minded friends. Our government has assisted a number of third party nationals to leave Libya and will continue to cooperate with others to ensure the safety and security of Canadians and others affected by the crisis.
I now will take some questions.
Operator: Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star 1. Si vous désirez poser une question, appuyez sur étoile 1. The first question is from Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail. Please go ahead.
Question: Good evening, Minister. Today, the French Prime Minister François Fillon said that planes are leaving with doctors and nurses and medical supplies on a humanitarian mission to Benghazi and British Prime Minister Cameron said that he’s working with allies on a no-fly zone. So I wonder if I could ask you is Canada supporting both of those measures? Are we willing to take part in those measures and what plans are we making to take part in either a humanitarian mission or a no-fly zone enforcement?
Hon. Lawrence Cannon: I think in terms of the no-fly zone, Campbell, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus among allies as of yet. Those discussions are ongoing between parties and I’ve met with a number of my colleagues and obviously, as I pointed out, there’s no consensus there. The UN Resolution obviously as well calls for humanitarian aid. So we’re very supportive of the fact that the French will be going forward with that. We certainly are prepared — and I’ve mentioned this today — we’re certainly prepared to give a hand in that regard and I think as the days go forward we’ll be in a better position to appreciate the different options that are there as they’re being more refined.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question est de Emmanuelle Latraverse, Radio-Canada. À vous la parole.
Question: M. Cannon, je veux revenir à la charge sur la question du no-fly zone, entre autres. Quand vous dites qu’il y a pas de consensus à l’échelle internationale, je veux bien mais pouvez-vous nous dire quelle est la position du Canada? Quelles sont vos inquiétudes, vos craintes, vos réflexions quant à la pertinence d’en imposer un?
L’hon. Lawrence Cannon: Bien, déjà, Emmanuelle, c’est un effort qui est extrêmement compliqué et très complexe à organiser. C’est une chose de dire un no-fly mais c’est un autre élément d’être capable de l’imposer, de le mettre en application et de le mettre en vigueur. Alors dans ce contexte-là il reste bien trop d’éléments qui sont encore -- qui sont encore peu connus et c’est pour ça que je voudrais pas m’aventurer aujourd’hui pour vous dire si le Canada appuie ou n’appuie pas. On n’a pas encore suffisamment d’information à cet égard.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question Mike Lansfied (sic), Canadian Press. Please go ahead.
Question: Good evening, Minister. The Chief Prosecutor of International Criminal Court strongly suggested today that the behaviour by the Gadhafi government and its forces could constitute a crime against humanity. Where does Canada stand on this and what role do you see for the ICC in any of this moving forward?
Hon. Lawrence Cannon: Well, today, at the -- Mike, at the Conference on Human – I’m sorry, on the Human Rights Council, indeed I mentioned that we are very supportive of this initiative and we would obviously be in agreement, total agreement with any resolution that came forward that would bring Gadhafi to the authorities of the International Court.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question, Audrey Roy à Radio-Canada. À vous la parole.
Question: Oui, bonjour. Donc j’ai parlé avec des Canadiens de tour de la Libye et certains se questionnent sur le travail de l’Ambassade canadienne, disent qu’ils manquent de communications, n’ont pas été suffisamment informés. Je voudrais avoir votre réaction là-dessus, s’il-vous-plaît.
L’hon. Lawrence Cannon: Bien je pense que l’objectif premier c’est de s’assurer que l’on puisse sortir en toute sécurité les Canadiens. Tout près de 300 Canadiens maintenant ont été évacués de cette zone-là et, comme vous le savez, on collabore avec d’autres pays pour transporter leurs ressortissants. Vous savez c’est une situation qui est extrêmement complexe et la situation de guerre civile n’est jamais une situation facile pour bien des raisons. Alors, encore une fois, l’Ambassade du Canada a été, comme vous le savez, les opérations ont été suspendues et nous travaillons avec d’autres pays, en particulier les Britanniques, avec les Français, ainsi que les Américains. Mais dans tous les cas vous savez ceux-ci n’ont pas d’équipe en place mais, aussi curieux que ça puisse paraître, aujourd’hui en discutant avec mon collègue Kevin Rudd de l’Australie, ce dernier a féliciter le Canada pour avoir travaillé à évacuer des Australiens d’une part mais aussi toute l’équipe de l’Ambassade de l’Australie à Tripoli.
Alors c’est des considérations qui sont importantes mais on est dans une situation, comme je le mentionnais, de guerre civile ou à peu près appréhendée.
Operator: Thank you. The following question, la prochaine question is from Michael Platt, the Calgary Sun. Please go ahead.
Question: Hi, Minister. I’m asking more about evacuation of Canadian citizens in direct contact with two Albertans stuck in Tripoli. They were given advice by Foreign Affairs yesterday to go to a port this morning where Turkish vessels would hopefully ferry them away and were rejected by the Turkish captain saying no such arrangements had been made. So obviously they’re in a bit of a panic, they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to get out. What other plans are being made? And are you getting the best – the best advice on the ground there to get them out?
Hon. Lawrence Cannon: Well, you know, we have – we have Canadian assets that are in Malta and that fly on a regular basis to go into Tripoli. We are making arrangements with other countries. I think that in the case that you’re mentioning here, the Operations Centre will get in touch with them or close relatives will be able to get in touch with them and if there has been a glitch in the system we’ll see that we can fix it. We’ve, as I mentioned, been able to evacuate close to 300 Canadians and I think everybody from our end as well as from like-minded countries are doing everything that is possible under difficult circumstances, under circumstances, frankly, that are conducive to a civil war and I think that people have to be – have to be – recognize this situation.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes today’s question and answer session. Ceci termine la séance de questions et réponses. Please disconnect your lines at this time. We thank you for your participation. Veuillez maintenant raccrocher votre ligne. Nous vous remercions de votre participation.
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