Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Happy new year to all my colleagues, whom I am seeing for the first time this year.
Thank you very much to both of you for being here. Your comments have been very interesting.
One of the things I'm hearing from you is that China is increasing its influence around the world, both diplomatically in terms of development and in terms of utilizing the tools within the multilateral institutions. They're gaining more influence. This is happening at the same time that the influence Canada has in the world is diminishing.
We've seen—and I don't blame the current administration solely—in the last 20 years a diminishment in our diplomatic resources, in what we do with our diplomacy. We've seen a diminishment within our development dollars, in how we spend money and what that looks like, and even, as you mentioned, in our participation in multilateral institutions like the United Nations, in those areas where Canada can't even get a Security Council seat any longer. I'd like to get a better sense of what the implications are of that.
I'm going to pass that to both of you. Then, if you wouldn't mind, just touch upon the idea that this is the current context we are in, but we are in a context now where we could have a Trump presidency, which pulls the U.S. even further back. Also, to be honest, we have a potential federal government in Canada that has spoken about pulling back from the world stage in multiple ways. What are the implications of that? What does China see when these things are happening?
Perhaps I could start with you, Dr. Houlden.
I'm sorry, Professor, but as an Albertan I have to nod to my fellow Albertans despite the hat, the cow and the beef part.