Thank you. I do not know if I have very much time left, but I would like to make a comment.
Mr. Williams, I certainly do not purport that I have your vast experience. For the information of the people who are listening, I would note that you were formerly a conservative member of this government, but I did not have the opportunity to work alongside you.
I would like to come back to one of the last statements you made. As you have noted, there are very few women around this table. I find it odd that there are not more women. Ms. Brown, a colleague from the Conservative Party, comes here once in a while. In my opinion, if there were more women in the Department of Foreign Affairs, there would perhaps be a different sensitivity with regard to the heaviness that characterizes the department.
In all parties, men and women have been elected. I imagine that some members are convinced that they will be able to make changes and move our society forward, whereas others have different convictions. They are probably here in the pursuit of their own interests. Whether it be in advanced nations such as ours or in developing countries, I believe that this is part of human nature. Even if we would like our public service to be without reproach, it is a fact that it is impossible to control that which motivates human nature.
We obviously are confronted with exceptions. Even here, we are in the pay of the governments that succeed each other. The public service remains, but it is under the yoke of the government in place. It must agree to change its orientation, to new policies or to programs that will be adjusted. We can hardly pretend that this public service will rise up and denounce the government. I believe that you do not bite the hand that feeds you.