Mr. Chair, first I want to express my gratitude for the flattering comments made about us.
What is expressed involuntarily is often what betrays a depth of thinking. There is indeed a wish that I would like to state, and that is that Canada's policy and efforts regarding democratic development assistance be more coherent.
Elections Canada can do its share, but to say it takes more than one election to make democracy is a cliché. I wanted to set that cliché aside and simply say that elections are both simple and complex, even here, in Canada. We forget that that's the case, but we see it when we go abroad. You have realized it. I wanted to tell the committee about certain thoughts.
It seems to me Canada could be more consistent with itself. I heard my predecessor, the President of CIDA, talk about the 25 countries that are considered as deserving Canada's aid. I know we're headed toward this kind of practice, but I would like to determine what the required factors are for establishing a good democracy in various countries. Reference would undoubtedly be made to freedom of the press, general audit, free elections, and functioning parliamentarians. For the parliamentary system to function properly, there has to be respect for the opposition. That's what's lacking in a number of countries.
The idea would be to establish a coherent set of criteria and to determine the needs of each country, not only in certain respects, but with regard to all criteria. You could even involve bodies such as Elections Canada, the Auditor General, organizations that are concerned with freedom of the press in Canada or parliamentarians, when it comes to explaining to other parliamentarians how a real democracy operates. That's what I wanted to suggest by my remarks.
Thank you.