Thank you, Chair.
Minister, I'd like to raise the question of the elections in Bolivia, which occurred around the same time as our elections last October.
Canada participated with the OAS in what seems now to have clearly been a failed effort at election monitoring. Fraud was alleged, based on a statistical analysis. For the first time this has proven to be flawed, without substantive evidence, leading to significant demonstrations and eventually the installation of a different government by the military and promises of elections, which haven't taken place, etc. They're now going to take place some time in May.
Canada has been part of that and supported it. Do you think there's a need for a different approach to the elections that are being held in May? We've seen the representatives of the party that Mr. Morales was part of being prevented from running. We've seen various things happening. There seems to be a need for a different sort of election monitoring, and perhaps more parties than the OAS. Is Canada prepared to call for greater involvement of other nations in election monitoring to ensure, as best we can, the greatest possible fairness in the election that should take place in Bolivia?
It's made a big difference to what's going on there now. If we were going to support democracy, should we not be encouraging a broader look at that election and encourage the direct involvement of Canadians in election monitoring there?