Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for appearing today.
My first question goes to Mr. Reilly-King. I'm very sympathetic when it comes to 0.7%. I have a huge interest in international development and have had for some time. I know very well who Lester Pearson was. When I think of 0.7%, I think all Canadians think of his leadership.
At the same time, I wonder if there are other ways to encourage an increase in overseas development assistance. On an annual basis, as you know, we're giving around $5 billion, but remittances total on average per year $24 billion. So $24 billion is sent by Canadians to family members in need in their country of origin, who find themselves certainly in difficult situations if not in outright poverty.
What some observers have said is that instead of focusing on 0.7% and getting to that goal, as laudable as that is, are there not other ways to get to the same outcome? To be more specific, the cost of transferring a remittance is sometimes up to 17%. Firms that are the middlemen, if you like, are charging sometimes up to 17% to transfer those fees.
The G8, or the then G8 in 2009, said that the number should be 5%. Sometimes it is, but quite often it's not. I wonder if you have anything to say on that.