It's essential that we play our part. The global economic crisis, although it has affected Canada, has affected many developing countries far worse. Increasingly, our economy in Canada is tied to global realities, so it's critical that there be a global recovery that is sustainable. That can only happen if there are investments in development in the south. Only then can we have a sustained global economy.
I agree that the current aid budget and the priorities of the aid program are a problem. But we're hopeful, given the requirements of the new legislation, the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, and some of the legal levers it provides, that we will be able to work towards continuing improvements in the quality of Canadian aid.
The other thing is that a large portion of Canadian aid goes through multilateral channels. For some of them, such as our contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, there is strong evidence that they are doing a lot of good. There are ways to channel additional resources quite effectively, even though there are problems with CIDA.