After talking to people and reviewing some of the documentation from that time, my impression was that it was an enlightened geostrategic decision. So there was some leadership. It is clear that the Labour government was elected with a mission to show the world that the United Kingdom could play a positive role. In addition, public servants had already laid the groundwork. They thought about what they could to with that money to bring about real change. Civil society was also very involved.
Planning for the long term was the key. The working document for the development policy review clearly showed that it would be impossible to do it over three or four years. I am of the same mind. The idea is to ask what we can do in the next 10 or 15 years. That's what the British did. They said it wasn't just a matter of charity, but also a question of shared prosperity and global stability. I think that, in the United Kingdom, perhaps because of its history, people were more sensitive to the issue than we were 10 years ago. Today, I believe that we, too, can become a bit more sensitive to this reality.
In order for Canada to become a leader like the United Kingdom, between now and about 2030, we will need to increase spending by 12% per year. That's not insignificant—it's a lot of money—but it's not impossible. In such a situation, the Department of Finance may say that it doesn't want certain things, but that it is willing to do others. These are some of the current options.