Canada’s recent $126 million (CDN$750,000) grant to Guyana aims to up conviction rates with the number of issues to be tackled ranging from improving police investigative capabilities to enhanced prosecution in the courts.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek News on Thursday, outgoing Canadian High Commis-sioner Dr Nicole Giles said that the funds would be provided via the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Programme from Ottawa’s Foreign Affairs department. The project would be delivered by the Canadian non-governmental organisation, the Justice Education Society, and Giles said that “its primary aim is to reduce impunity rates which are extraordinarily high in Guyana.”
The project would look at all areas from how the police conduct their investigation when they arrive on the crime scene right up to what evidence is presented to judges. It would see the development of modules based on needs that are identified in consultation with police, civil society, judges and prosecutors. The diplomat anticipates modules on basic crime scene investigation, sexual violence and other important areas. The work would commence in another few months.
Giles noted that Canada has two other major projects in the justice sector with both coming through the country’s Caribbean Regional Programme. One is a CDN$20 million project through the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) aimed at strengthening the capacity of judges. Another CDN$20M project is being implemented by the University of the West Indies and it is aimed at strengthening judicial training and legislative drafting capabilities in the region. Guyana benefits from both of these projects.
The outgoing Canadian diplomat said that her country would continue to provide training for police officers and assist the force in other areas. In terms of assisting with reforms of the law enforcement body, she said that something as crucial as this should be done by Guyana.
In terms of a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Giles said that they are still working with the police and CANU on effecting the training and equipment they received from the course under the MOU. She added that they are attempting to assess the results of the training before contemplating further programmes.
The Canadian official pointed out that since the training, there have been a number of drug seizures that have been made using those investigating techniques and equipment.
Meantime, in relation to the recent decree issued by Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro claiming a large portion of Guyana’s maritime space, the High Commissioner said that the Government of Canada believes very strongly in the reliability of internationally agreed upon borders as well as the non-use of force but rather peaceful means to settle disagreements. “And we would hope that both of these principles would be applied by international communities in considering the issues between Guyana and Venezuela,” she said.
Clean Hand
Canadian firms dominate the extractive sector in Guyana and Giles said that these companies are required to operate in an aboveboard manner by their country and they have to sign what is known as a ‘clean hand’ policy before receiving trade support.
“All Canadian companies in Guyana that receive support from the High Commission including (oil explorer) CGX have to sign what we call a clean hand policy before we will deliver trade commissioner’s service to them. And that’s one of the ways we ensure that Canadian companies are behaving abroad as we expect them to behave at home…,” Giles told Stabroek News.
She pointed out that one of the core functions of the High Commission of Canada in Guyana is to ensure that these companies adhere to international laws and regulations. The High Commission has published guidelines including on updated legislation informing companies how they should act in Guyana – transparent and ensuring that they undertake appropriate consultation with all concerned.
Giles also recalled that in the area of oil and gas, CGX—a Canadian company which has been doing exploration work in Guyana for a number of years—supported Guyana in taking Suriname to the United Nations Law of the Sea tribunal on the matter of the maritime border between the two countries which saw a judgement largely in favour of Guyana.
In the mining sector, Giles named Guyana Goldfields as a “best in class” company and said that it is an example of how companies should behave in relation to their practices of transparency and good corporate social responsibilities. The development of this firm has been another highlight of the High Commissioner’s tour here. Guyana Goldfields, a large scale gold miner, is on the verge of beginning gold production in Region Seven.
As it relates to assisting Guyana in managing potential revenue from oil and gas, Giles said that they have worked with the Commonwealth Secretariat to help develop some oil and gas legislation and policies but are also working with Guyana to support the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund. She was reluctant to disclose the details and would only say that it is hoped that they would be able to “leverage Canadian expertise in this area to help the Government of Guyana develop the policy framework.” By establishing such a fund, Guyana would ensure that future generations benefit from the wealth generated.
Meanwhile, acknowledging that a significant portion of Guyana’s skilled workforce has been soaked up by Canada, Giles said that she does not see it as her country’s responsibility to help Guyana retain its graduates. “I think it is the responsibility of the host government to create a fertile environment where their people want to stay,” Giles said.
She pointed out that Canada is a country of immigrants as many of its citizens have links to other countries. She pointed out that Canada provides ongoing support for the sustainable and responsible development of Guyana through various initiatives.
Number of projects
According to the outgoing High Commissioner, Canada has a number of projects in Guyana that are in progress and in which the new government will have an opportunity to make inputs. She noted that Canada’s main mechanism for programmes in Guyana is through a CD$600 million Caribbean regional programme for development in the region of which Guyana is a key beneficiary.
Discussions have already been had with the new ministers with a view of ascertaining whether two projects in Region 9 (Upper Essequibo/Upper Takutu) – that deal with food security and which are driven by women – is a model that can be replicated in other communities. There were also discussions on Canada’s Technical Vocational & Educational Training Programme (TVET) which sees Canadian colleges being paired with technical institutes in Georgetown and Linden to help with training and development of skills in key areas. With the new government, one of the things that is being focused on, is how to ensure that the right groups are targeted.
Giles listed visiting the group in Region 9 as one of the highlights of her stay in Guyana as she saw a group of powerful and empowered women who came together not only to feed the community but to help in ensuring sustainable economic growth within the village.
According to Giles, in talks with the government, Canada has also highlighted work it has been doing as it relates to Public Financial Management (PFM) an area in which a number of projects were implemented including building statistical bases for public policy decision making to ensure that they are evidence based.
Canada is also looking forward to the opening of the Family Court – a project it has supported heavily over the years in helping to develop the court’s manual among others. The live streaming of Parliament on screen outside of Public Buildings for the first time last Wednesday was particularly refreshing for Giles to see as Canada has done extensive work on the issue.
She said that these were the highlights of her short stint to Guyana – to see the impact of the efforts of the Government of Canada in Guyana.
Violence against women, which has spiraled out of control in Guyana, is one of the key area of concern to Canada and Giles said that one of their priorities in the Americas is to promote human rights. She pointed out that in many countries in the Americas including Guyana, the most at risk are women and girls as well as the LGBT community.
In Guyana, she said, they have partnered with Help & Shelter as well as Rainbow House to raise awareness and prevention of sexual violence as well as protection and prosecution. The High Commission has also work with the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) and assisted in furnishing a safe house and training facility for victims of Trafficking in Persons. The projects were funded by the Canada Fund For Local Initiatives.
Back to Ottawa
High Commissioner Giles heads back to Ottawa and while she is not sure what her assignment at headquarters would be, there are a number of areas she is interested in. She will take a two-month holiday to spend time with her family and to get resettled.
A mother of two young children, Giles said that her children and husband are the “light of my life.” She said, as has been said by other successful women, that one of the most important career choices a woman can make is in choosing her spouse.
“That’s certainly been my case and quite frankly I wouldn’t have been able to do this job if I didn’t have an incredibly supportive husband and that’s been an absolute key for me,” Giles said of her husband Brian.
She said that she has also tried to prioritize her family and the children and to work around their schedules. Giles related that she is “pretty ruthless” in ensuring that 5 to 7pm every day is spent with her family. “I make sure I am home for those critical, dinner, homework bedtime hours,” she recalled while adding it is about being flexible.
Giles and her family would remain in Ottawa for some time where the elder of her two children would begin French lessons which is critical “for us as dedicated bilingual Canadians, we want our children to speak French which is one of the reasons we have chosen to return to Ottawa this summer.”
