I'm interested in the question of coordination.
On page 3, your paragraph where you discuss your focuses, I'm concerned that you didn't refer to Africa. Minister, I'll tell you why I'm concerned. If you look at CIDA's budget, a vast percentage of its budget is dedicated to African aid. There are significant governance issues in Africa, which we're spending a lot of money on. We're spending money in Sudan and the Congo. We're spending a great deal of money in a number of countries that have extensive governance issues. I'm one of those who think that the work of the foreign affairs department and CIDA is inseparable and that we've been living in separate silos for too long.
We have to find better ways to coordinate the work of CIDA and that of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
You said that you would be focusing on certain priority areas: Afghanistan, the markets, the United States, the Americas, the Arctic, the Middle East, but you did not make any mention of Africa from the political viewpoint, from your department's viewpoint, despite the fact that nearly all of CIDA's international funding is spent there. In my opinion, when political direction does not follow the money, there is a problem.