Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the speech made by my colleague, and I have a short question to ask him.
In 1990-91, Canada's contribution to international aid was 0.48%. When the Liberals took power, it dropped to 0.41%, which is 0.5% less. Now it is down to 0.25%.
The member could make the best speeches in the world but does he not agree that the federal government has a lot of catching up to do and very quickly? We all know that international aid is used only to face up to urgent situations as there is now in Afghanistan. It is also a tool for the redistribution of wealth. I believe in this matter we were caught in the act, and this goes for all G-7 countries, Canada in particular, of contributing insufficiently--I would even say almost nominally--to the point where we are unable to correct the situation.
Does the member not agree that since a new budget will be presented in a month this would be a good time to make a major effort in this regard? We will have to meet obligations in defence but will we also fulfill our obligations in international assistance?