Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think first, and perhaps most important, certainly from the government's perspective, is that Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency are committed absolutely to freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law around the world each and every day, and that's from our ambassadors and embassy personnel around the world to our staff at the headquarters here in Ottawa.
Certainly for some time we've known about the challenges of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. They've been very well publicized, and to tell you the truth, quite frankly, after the testimony we heard from Mr. Braun, I was even more alarmed. I think there is certainly no question that there were significant challenges.
As the department looked to find efficiencies and savings, this seemed like a very appropriate time to look at the restructuring and to where we focus our efforts.
Again, the government absolutely supports moving forward on this particular piece of division 33.