Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ambassadors, I would like to welcome you to this Committee. It is a pleasure to meet with you today. Like Mr. Bélanger, I am a member of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association. I have two or three quick questions I would like to ask, as time is short.
There is one thing I would like to validate with you. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation, Mr. Abbott, said in the House of Commons that he had spoken to the ambassadors of those African countries that have been struck from the list of priority countries for Canadian aid. He asserted that these countries support the government's decision to remove them from the list.
I would like to know whether the Canadian government contacted you to make you aware of this decision, whether you were consulted or whether you found out subsequently.