Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies, thank you for being with us today, and thank you for the work that you and your colleagues do on a daily basis to maintain a presence for Canada and its various groups in the Americas, particularly in Latin America.
Since 2004, the AmericasBarometer, the largest research initiative by the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt University, has been measuring attitudes, evaluations, experiences and behaviours in the Americas. The latest edition is based on data from 34 countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. One of the key findings of this latest edition is that support for democracy has eroded significantly in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past two decades. In some places, such as Uruguay and Costa Rica, support for democracy remains high, but in countries such as Suriname and Guatemala, it's below 50%. That means one out of every two citizens doesn't believe in democracy.
Is that something you're concerned about? What steps is Canada taking to help reverse this growing trend?