Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank our officials for being here.
I want to pick up on another question I don't think we have discussed at all, and that is the food aid program.
We have nearly a billion people around the world who are suffering from hunger. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 925 million in the world are hungry and malnourished, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Malnutrition is the main cause of those 3.5 million maternal child deaths a year.
I think the fact that Canada is the second-largest single country donor to the World Food Programme is underappreciated. It currently serves as chair of the Food Aid Convention, and I know that back in 2008 the Government of Canada fully untied its food aid budget, providing our partners with greater flexibility to purchase appropriate food locally at reasonable prices and reduce high transportation costs.
Would you fill us in on some of what Canada is doing in the area of support for the World Food Programme, on what we're doing in terms of food security, and on what really the significance is of untying aid? I know that many nations use it as a food subsidy program for their own agricultural production. What is the significance of untying?
I've wrapped three questions into that, all related.
Thank you very much.