Mr. Chair, my colleague put his finger on the problem when he said that ever since this government came to power in 2006, CIDA has really turned its back on Africa.
Would he not agree that ideology is what is behind all this? The Minister of International Cooperation himself has said and done things that fly directly in the face of what Canada has always done in the area of international aid, particularly in Africa and especially francophone Africa.
That is what is happening in Mali right now. I think we need to do more in tonight's debate than simply criticize this laxness. This is a clear, deliberate reflection of this government's ideology, as the Conservatives themselves have said. The Minister of International Cooperation has said so. They treat international aid as though they are doing business. Their priority should of course be to eliminate poverty. However, assistance to Mali at this time is woefully inadequate, probably because of the Conservative government's new ideology.