Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much to the witnesses.
Thank you, Minister, for being here with us today.
As you know, I spent my career prior to politics in the international development sector. I have many questions for you, so forgive me if I interrupt you.
I have to start by saying that some of your words don't match the actions of this government.
You talked about the need for peace and security. The government promised 600 peacekeepers. I believe we have 60 in the field right now. You went to Qatar. You've not spoken out about Saudi Arabia taking weapons and using them against innocent civilians. I worry about that.
You talk about the need for increased international development, but we saw in the budget a 15% cut to ODA. At a time when we have a climate crisis and people around the world are suffering disproportionally, when we have a hunger crisis, when conflict is causing massive challenges and we have a feminist international assistance policy, this country— even though we are already 16 out of 30 of donor countries and so far below where Pearson wanted us to be and below the ambitions that Canadians have for this country—has cut international development assistance by 15%.
Your job as the international development minister is to advocate for international development, to make sure that the caucus understands why international development is so important.
What have you been doing to do that? How have you been advocating for the sector when what we see right now is a 15% cut to ODA?