The most important aspect of my department's mandate letter is to refocus international assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable, and supporting fragile states. That is at the centre of all our reflection.
As I was saying earlier, with my colleague the parliamentary secretary, I have already undertaken a process of consultation. It has already allowed us to establish five priorities that will guide further consultations.
We already know that women and girls will be at the heart of our concerns. I believe profoundly that the key to success in a country's development is to protect and educate its girls. They must also be provided with employment possibilities and the ability to contribute to the economic growth of their community so that they in turn can provide their children with a good education.
So, whether we are talking about health, human rights, economic growth or humanitarian assistance, women and girls, who for me are the most vulnerable, will really be at the heart of our priorities.
There is also the matter of young people in general. It is important to encourage the education and empowerment of young people in general, not only girls but also boys. When boys can be sent to school, there is less chance that they will be recruited by extremist groups. We also know that, in those countries that we are targeting, especially those in Africa, the percentage of the population under 30 years of age is extremely high. Those young people must therefore be offered the possibility of a fulfilling life, in order to avoid them being led astray by harmful forces.
That is as true of humanitarian assistance as it is of development assistance. The people suffering from extreme poverty are often those living in countries in conflict. We have to find the right balance between our involvement in humanitarian assistance in those developing countries and in fragile states.
So the consultation that we are conducting at the moment is intended to find out how we can balance Canada's international assistance to these vulnerable client populations.