Joly urges more funding to hire Canadian diplomats as Ottawa cuts spending

Canada needs more diplomats if it wants to have an influence in the Indo-Pacific and other key regions of the world, Joly told MPs at a parliamentary committee this week.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking MPs to support more funding for Global Affairs Canada, despite the Liberals undertaking cutbacks across the government.

Joly said earlier this week that the United States, France and rapidly developing countries are staffing up to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.

She cited the countries known as BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as emerging market countries.

Canada needs more diplomats if it wants to have an influence in the Indo-Pacific and other key regions of the world, Joly said.

“I really hope that we can all agree on the fact that we need to invest more in our diplomats. It is important that we have our resources,” Joly said.

She also said more investment in government information technology is needed, citing more frequent cyberattacks.

Global Affairs Canada confirmed last week it was investigating a cyberattack and data breach that had forced it to limit remote access to its networks, two years after a similar incident.

Joly asserted the need for investment despite the government’s plan to cut expenditures by $7.1 billion over five years overall, starting with a three per cent cut on most departments.