I don't think there are any general statements that one could make this afternoon that would be particularly useful to you. Each case is a particular case, and it has very much to do with the perception and the analysis of need, and the value of the role of an external player like Canada in a given partner country.
It suggests that perhaps, as I indicated, in a particular partner country, because of existing Commonwealth links or some similar links through La Francophonie, Canada could play a role in assisting with the development of democratic institutions and democratic processes in that country. If Canada could, say, go beyond just the national level in terms of elections and processes and go on to regional and even municipal political processes, which many experts are suggesting it is really becoming very important to do, this is an area where Canada might, through its dialogue with our partner country, reach an agreement on how we could be useful. There is a very clear need, as articulated by the partner country. As Monsieur Côté said, we could be part of the dialogue and we could draw upon our not insignificant expertise in this country. We complain a great deal about political process in this country, but it actually works quite well, and other countries do admire how we run our processes, and so this may be something that we could do.
That, in fact, would be an area where the capacity of the country to receive might be relatively limited initially, but through a very carefully formulated and phased-in program of assistance over 10 years, Canada could come to play a very useful role and could help contribute to the creation or the strengthening of what are essential building blocks for these countries, as they are in their own democratic process. However, it would very much have to be that country's own articulation of how it saw the assistance from Canada being most useful. By having a long-term engagement with that country, if there were hiccups, which there would inevitably be, then we would be in a position to have quite an open, direct, and honest dialogue with our partner and say, “Wait a minute. This isn't going the way it should or the way it could best go.” We would be able to have that dialogue, rather than sort of saying, “Well, we've had cases of electoral corruption, so that's it; we're going to suspend the whole program”. That really puts at risk the entire previous investment, and it really doesn't advance the understanding of your partner as to the depths of your concern and how rectification measures might be taken.
I apologize for spending quite a bit of time on the issue of democratic process and democratic development, but I've been influenced quite a lot by Donald Savoie's books on what government is good at, and Mariana Mazzucato's work on what government is good at. I'm linking these kinds of activities also to what James Haga was saying in terms of how development assistance can help create appropriate conditions and a good enabling environment for other players, such as development finance institutions, such as some of the multilateral financial institutions like the International Finance Corporation, or the World Bank itself to come in and play their role. We get kind of a convergence and a collective effort. You're quite right to talk about the issue of there having to be careful, deliberate and sustained investment to build these capacities so that all of this happens and brings about the results that everyone hopes for.