Finance committee  The only thing I would add is that there are many different ways in which the government can provide international assistance. The Official Development Assistance Accountability Act provides a legislative framework for defining and implementing one element of international assistance, which is official development assistance.

Finance committee  I could sing the praises of the parliamentary internship program, in which I worked with Mr. Richards as well as with Paul Dewar on the opposition benches. Certainly the size of the bill means that we need to hear a large number of voices. The spectrum of voices that we have here today is testimony to that, in part.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee. We are pleased to appear on behalf of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, Canada's national coalition of civil society organizations working to end global poverty and to promote social justice and human dignity for all.