First of all, I acknowledge your great interest and ongoing efforts in this regard. I know you've travelled extensively, particularly in Asia.
I think one of the most basic democratic measures or standards we can set--and it's certainly not the only one--is participation in elections. One of the most important roles that I've seen Canada play in recent years is just that--election oversight. I think Elections Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley and others, have done yeoman service in representing our country. They have gone to places like Haiti and some of the African countries and done their level best to promote participatory democracy and fair elections.
There are telltale signs when elections have gone awry. We've seen examples in which ballots were stuffed or went missing. While elections are not the be-all and end-all, they are the surest sign that a country is in essence moving towards democratic principles and empowerment of people to change their government, as opposed to some of the coups we've seen, most recently in Thailand. I think this is an area where we are already seeing tangible contributions by Canadians.
On your reference to other forums or organizations, I would encourage you to make that part of the essence of your study--to look at other countries that embrace these arm's-length bodies set up to promote democracy. The National Endowment for Democracy is one example of an international body that has reached far beyond its own country's boundaries. Transparency and accountability within those organizations demonstrates that they are following democratic principles in the governance of themselves. Nothing can set democracy back more than having an organization promoting these principles fall victim to its own autocratic and undemocratic ways. I would encourage you to include some of these models. There are quite a few in Great Britain and France that promote participation, promote the type of full, fair, and free democratic elections that are the landmark of countries taking control of their own destiny.
To that end, the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as CIDA have to continue to fund these organizations sufficiently to make their mark. I would suggest we have to gauge, with the greatest information available, the progress being made and target countries in which we feel we can make the greatest difference. I think if we have a completely uninformed, scatter-gun approach, and we try to be everywhere at the same time, we're not going to accomplish as much as we would by taking a focused, principled attack.
The Ukraine was an area where members of this committee went and made a significant contribution, as did Elections Canada. I would defer to you for some good advice on where those efforts should be focused.