Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank all the witnesses for taking part in this important study. We are truly grateful. We have a superb panel of witnesses today, with Ms. McCarthy and Mr. Ducos.
Ms. McCarthy, you said that Canada needs to reclaim the leadership it once held. In fact, what I understand from your remarks is that Canada previously had this leadership and now has an opportunity to reclaim it when it comes to defending human rights defenders.
Over the past year, several highly objective observers have been monitoring the new government's policies. Some observers see significant setbacks. Take, for example, the cuts to the much-discussed budget allocation for international development, which is often used, among other things, to support human rights organizations. The cuts amount to some $2.5 billion, which is somewhat in line with the trend among our allies, such as USAID, Europe and Japan, which has nearly eliminated its budget allocation for international development. Canada is following this trend.
Mr. Carney has travelled abroad extensively, including for bilateral meetings, but has never set foot in Africa for a bilateral meeting. That has not happened.
On top of that, the famed feminist policy has been abandoned. I don’t want to be pessimistic. You are on the committee—we've been following Canada's actions over the past year—and we're a long way from the 0.7% target set by the UN; we even fall short of the OECD average for international development funding.
What is your opinion of the new government’s vision over the past year?