Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much for being here today. We appreciate your testimony.
Ms. Campbell, I guess we've talked to some very different people. I had a meeting with Dr. Ping of the African Union last fall, who indicated a considerable interest in developing economic ties with Canada. A couple of years ago I was in Zambia, and I had a meeting with the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Honourable Dorcus Makgato-Malesu, who said they were looking to sign a foreign investment agreement with Canada. I was in Ethiopia and talked to the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Development, and he too talked about developing considerable relationships with Canadian companies. We talked about the need for the government to guide private sector development and that there was a real need for that to happen.
I've had conversations with people from SADC, from ECOWAS, from COMESA, and from the EAC, and they are happy with what Canada is doing in bringing foreign investment in.
One of the things we have to look at is that Canada signed on to the Equator Principles in 2005. We have a councillor in place.
We're not saying that everything is perfect. There are still things to be done, but we certainly know that the investment Canada is taking into many of these countries is benefiting these countries. In Zambia, when we were there, the minister said that tax revenues of 30% coming from many of these companies are providing them with resources. These ministers are developing long-term strategies in their countries for health care and public education. Yes, indeed, those structures have to be there.
I was in Botswana. May I first say, Mr. Watson, that you talked about building schools. Are they elementary, my dear Watson? That was just for a little levity.
I was in Botswana. I was at the Essakane mine. I saw what IAMGOLD is doing there to provide opportunities for people in real job skills training. It's not just that they're putting a school in for the short term. They're putting in a school for the long term. They're building hospital clinics. They're building a skills training centre. People who are getting the skills in their training centre are being employed at the mine. Many of them are able to take those skills into other parts of the country to develop businesses, which is a long-term strategy.
I wonder if you could talk specifically about some of the capacities Canada could help put in place. We heard from Mr. de Soto some weeks ago about the need to help in capacity-building. Help countries build their legal structures. Help countries develop capacity in their government structures. Can you talk about how private investment would be partnering with those?