Thank you for that excellent question.
Three million dollars were withheld from Canada's voluntary contribution to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the OIF, for the governments own reasons. It's known that a small portion of this amount, about $100,000, was transferred to a number of partners. To our knowledge, the$2.9 million still remains but has not been allocated. It's money that Canada has earmarked for diplomacy.
The money could be transferred on the basis of the "by, for and with" principle for Canada's communities and it could still be used for that purpose. I will return to what I was saying earlier: Just imagine what the Société nationale de l'Acadie could do in its diplomatic work if it had funds.
Is this withholding of funds from the OIF permanent? We don't know. We'd like it to be allocated in the future. It could return to the OIF, but it could also be given to public diplomacy organizations like the Société nationale de l'Acadie in recognition of the impact of their work on Canadian diplomacy.