Absolutely. For example, there is the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and other international agreements that were signed subsequently. We must respect our commitment to development strategies as defined by partners in developing countries.
Let me take this opportunity to reply to Ms. Brown's comments that we have to do what our government partners tell us. That is only partly true. We are committed to the concepts of empowerment, of shouldering responsibilities, of ownership. It is not about any empowerment, it is democratic empowerment. A number of these partners are not democratic countries. They are authoritarian countries, or partly so. Just because a government says that it is in favour of such and such a development model does not mean that Canada has to see it as the country's choice. The government is not necessarily representative of the situation. That is why Canada must, under the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, consult partners in civil society and elsewhere in recipient countries.