Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I think it's important, when we are putting things on the record, that Canadians know first and foremost that our government doubled aid to Africa. One of the most important things we did was untie all of our food aid, and we are moving toward untying all of our aid. It's also important that we have joined the IATA for aid transparency to make sure Canadians know that the aid dollars going out there are being spent in the most effective manner to help the most people. I think that's what Canadians want to know.
Mr. Bernier, I'd like to address my question to you if I may. I had the opportunity to be in Bangladesh with Mrs. Dendys when she was in a different iteration. We had the opportunity to view quite a number of micro-finance projects that were being undertaken there. We saw that there was a tremendous impact on the whole community when these women got access to capital and were engaged in their own micro-finance businesses.
From your experience in providing these kinds of loans to communities, can you talk about the impact you have viewed, and let the committee know what kinds of positive results you have seen when women have access to capital and can provide for their families?