Mr. Speaker, we are celebrating today African industrialization day, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly.
In this resolution, the international community commits itself to supporting Africa's efforts to achieve faster growth and sustainable human development.
There is still much to be done to eliminate poverty, to promote democracy, to strenghten civil society, to enhance the status of women, to find solutions to the debt problem and to encourage the development of the African economy.
Canada's efforts in these areas leave much to be desired. Canada's contribution to poor countries over the next several years will fall below 0.2% of GNP. In 1998, Canadian international assistance will be at its lowest level since the 1960s.
The Bloc Quebecois strongly disagrees with Canada's withdrawal from poor countries and especially from Africa. We urge the government to respect its commitment to earmark 0.7% of its GNP for official development assistance.