Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
One hundred and thirty million girls don't go to school. If these girls represented the inhabitants of a country, it would be the 10th most populated in the world.
Let's take a moment to think about it. Canada spends about 2¢ per Canadian per day on education in the world. According to the Committee on Culture and Education, it is essential to double our contributions to education if we want to give each of these girls the chance to attend school. This means that, with only 2¢ more, Canada can pave the way.
Today, we are asking Canada to contribute to funding the Global Partnership in Education in 2018 as part of the solution to help millions of girls from the poorest countries to get the education they deserve.
I want to close by asking the honourable members and the public what they would have become if they hadn't received an education.
Thank you.