Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to our guests this morning. However, I consider the current process to be illegitimate, even though we have agreed to participate in it. I don't think that such an important piece of legislation should be included in an omnibus bill. I feel that a change of this magnitude should be studied in detail by our committee. We should also hold all the necessary consultations.
Speaking of consultations, Mr. Chair, I'm a bit aghast that the CCIC, the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, which is the biggest umbrella organization in Canada, will not be heard in this committee. We had suggested inviting them as witnesses to this committee, and I understand they have asked to be heard by this committee. If the process were not enough of a problem, situations like this would already be a big problem.
By the way, we have also asked in particular that Minister Fantino come to this committee. It's very important. We've also asked in the past that Minister Fantino come to talk about the budget and the budget implementation bill. We have not seen Minister Fantino for quite a while in this committee, and I think it would be important and responsible for him to come here to talk to us.
This being said, my apologies to the witnesses.
I felt that these issues needed to be raised.
Thank you for your presentations. I could ask you questions for hours, but I will just ask you a quick one. It's for all of you.
When were you told about the amalgamation of DFAIT and CIDA?