加拿大下議院(House of Commons)在 2005 年 4 月起審議由保守
黨籍議員 Jim Abbott 所提出的私人法案第 357 法案(Bill C-357)，也
就是俗稱的『台灣事務法』(Taiwan Affairs Act, TAA)。歷經一讀程序
及送交外交國貿委員會進行討論與聽證會，雖因 11 月底 Paul Martin
領導的自由黨遭受倒閣與隨後國會解散而功敗垂成，卻也有效提升
加國社會對台海問題的意識。特別是，TAA 出自一個與台灣較欠缺
深厚歷史淵源的國家的民間自省，也提供加國政府政策調整契機，
其內容及審議過程深值得分析與探討。
本篇論文重點將探討台灣事務法草案的內容與審議過程及意
義，並將此一主題置於加拿大與台灣關係的歷史脈絡之下。因此，
本文將先簡要說明加拿大與台灣關係的歷史背景，其次探討 TAA 的
內容以及審議過程，最後分析 TAA 的影響與意義。

In April 2005 the Canadian House of Commons discussed Private
Members Bill No. 357 (Bill C-357) tabled by the Conservative MP, Jim
Abbott and popularly known as the Taiwan Affairs Act or TAA. It
passed its first reading and was sent to the Foreign Commerce Committee
for further discussion. However, in November Paul Martin’s Liberal
government was forced to call elections and hence the Act proceeded no
further. Nonetheless, in a country like Canada that has not had
historical links with Taiwan, the discussion provoked by the Bill is worth
remarking.
This paper discusses the content of the Bill, the process of its
discussion and its significance, within in the context of the history of
Taiwanese-Canadian relations. Hence this paper first presents the history
of Taiwanese-Canadian relations, then discusses the TAA itself, and
finally assesses the effect and significance of the TAA.