Thank you for being here today.
In your comments you mentioned that a number of variables are responsible. You listed weak economies as being a primary culprit when it comes to explaining why this problem exists in the first place. I wonder if you could follow up on what you spoke about with respect to poverty reduction programs as a way to deal with that particular problem, and, in effect, help to combat the problem of human trafficking. I wonder if you could answer the question with the following perspective in mind. I know that you worked with CIDA. I wonder as far as development policy goes, Canada as a middle power has been contributing a great deal in terms of global development, and we've done a very good job of this in our history, but there's always more to learn. How do we engage in ways that prevent us from imposing our approach or view and instead allow individuals to have ownership over particular projects?
Let me give you an example. Much has been made of microcredit, for instance, and its potential in terms of allowing individuals on the ground to actually have ownership over their own lives through economic projects. I wonder if projects like that are particularly useful in helping to generate a sense of self-esteem, and generate the sense of self-ownership necessary to combat problems of inequality that exist in weak economies, and in effect help us deal with the whole issue of human trafficking in a way that is not authored by us, but by the people on the ground, with our only intervening to help as necessary.