Committee, we'll call this meeting to order.
This is the 34th meeting of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. We are continuing in our study of democratic development today. This committee, over the past ten or eleven months, has undertaken a study, first of all, on how we deliver our developmental aid, our humanitarian aid, around the world, and this fall we moved into more of a comprehensive study on democratic development and Canada's role in support of democratic development.
We're very pleased to have with us today, from the University of Montreal, Ms. Diane Éthier, a full professor in the department of political science. We welcome you here.
We want to apologize for being late today. Every once in a while in the House of Commons we have what we call votes. Sometimes we know they're coming, and sometimes when we invite our witnesses we're unaware that there will be a vote that day. The good news is that the votes are completed, the committee is here, and we're looking forward to what you have to say, Madame Éthier.