We didn't need CIDA. We thought that Brandaid Project was a very successful model. We believe in it, so we wrote a project proposal and submitted it to CIDA, because we were recommending that the Canadian government support the launch of brands for all the reasons I've cited. CIDA then got back to us and said, “Well, this isn't Canada's focus in Haiti. Our focus is professionalization of the police and judicial reform”. But when the earthquake hit and Brandaid Project got Macy's involved, we ended up on the front page of The Globe and Mail. The Government of Canada contacted us and said, “It's a good idea after all. We want to do this”.
On December 8th, 2011. See this statement in context.