On the bilateral program, I made the case before around responsive programming; I think that's a whole other stream.
But if you're looking at the bilateral programming, which is meant to be country to country, there are challenges. The country partner governments actually don't want money to go to local civil society. They put in place all sorts of barriers and constraints that make it difficult for some of the bilateral programs. There are ways, however, in which Canadian partners can help with some of this. We have long-standing partnership arrangements. We can help in ways that the direct bilateral programs can't on their own, just because of constraints.
There are some country environments in which it's quite possible for the bilateral program to set up fairly robust support for local groups. We would encourage that; we think it's great. Aid doesn't have to always be channelled through a Canadian partner. If we can create local funds and various structures, I think those are good.
We work in many environments in which the space for local civil society is getting smaller and smaller. We feel the space constraints on us as international NGOs. That worries me less; it's the constraint on space for the local groups that is worrisome. The governments are trying to control it. It's important that we find avenues to continue to support those people, because they need support and resources if there is going to be a vibrant economy and a vibrant social fabric in those countries.