Mr. Speaker, a little more than 10 years ago, the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, or CAPA, was formed. In its first decade, CAPA constructively engaged with fellow African parliamentarians to help them entrench democratic principles and to share best practices in our dual roles of overseeing government and legislating.
Over the course of that first decade, the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association built a good reputation among our Canadian and African colleagues, among African ambassadors to Canada and Canadian ambassadors to Africa, at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, as well as among NGOs operating in Africa.
On behalf of my colleagues in the House and the Senate, I express our gratitude for having had the opportunity of getting to know this vast, diverse, and complex continent and its 54 countries. I also wish to express CAPA's strong desire to continue to strengthen our relationships with our fellow African parliamentarians in the coming years.