Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
We'll first speak to the reporting and amendments to certain acts, which deals with clauses 654 to 658 in division 17. Budget 2018 announced that Canada would be enhancing its international assistance reporting, which is currently based on different historical and legislative requirements that result in Canada's reporting on its international assistance levels through several different means—multiple reports at different dates with different scopes.
The first component of division 17 proposes legislative amendments to three existing acts in order to align reporting timelines. The first is the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act, which falls under the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The second is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Agreement Act, also under the Minister of Finance. The third is the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, which falls under the responsibility of the Minister of International Development.
The goal is to establish timelines to allow for one consolidated report explaining international assistance activities to Parliament and to Canadians
This report will relay in an effective and transparent way the efforts deployed by Canada in the area of international aid.
The amendments to the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, or ODAAA, seek to repeal the outdated definition of official development assistance currently in the act. These amendments allow for official development assistance to be defined and updated in regulations so that it can be kept consistent with the internationally agreed definition.
I'll now turn it over to my Global Affairs colleague for any additional comments.