Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of the witnesses who have joined us today for this important study. My question is for Mr. Sandford.
Mr. Sandford, it's not a coincidence that I'm wearing my UN pin today on my lapel. I wear it almost every day. I'm happy to say that we're matching today. I'm a big fan of the sustainable development goals, and my question today is prefaced with something that I find very troubling.
Recently, Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis, Pierre Poilievre's shadow minister for infrastructure and communities, not only supported and sponsored an official House of Commons petition that calls on Canada to expeditiously withdraw from the UN, but it has also become clear that she had a hand in drafting that petition. In that petition, MP Leslyn Lewis cited the negative consequences that things like sustainable develop impose on Canada.
Now, I am loath to amplify any of those harmful conspiracy theories, but they are regularly shared and used by Conservatives, and I think it's really important to recognize how much vital work Canada and the UN do together. I've been fortunate enough to witness some of it in francophone western Africa, particularly on clean water.
Mr. Sandford, could you articulate for this committee and this study how essential the work is that Canada and the UN do together to ensure water security, safety, hygiene and sanitation for those less fortunate?