Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for coming here today, Mr. Foster and Ms. Boulden.
Ms. Boulden, you stated that all models do not work everywhere and that a different procedure is followed in every case.
Yesterday we heard from Ms. Éthier, a researcher at the University of Montreal. She was extremely pessimistic about international aid and felt that it wasn't working. I think it's obvious that it isn't really working. Ms. Éthier nonetheless emphasized ways of improving the situation, the first being that before we intervene somewhere, we should take a good look at prevailing conditions and with whom we would be doing business.
You talked about countries emerging from a conflict situation. Immediately after the cessation of hostilities, an effort is made to bring in democracy. The same parties involved in the conflict then work together in an effort to bring democracy to their country.
How important is it, in your opinion, at this stage to learn about the environment and about the context in which assistance would be provided?