Josée Verner

[Africa, June 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Barr was forced to issue a correction concerning the allegations he had made in the interview.

The base amount for doubling aid to Africa is $1.05 billion and we are on track to achieve that goal, as indicated in the Financial Times, which reported on June 5, 2007, that Canada is the only G-8 country that is on track to meet its Gleneagles commitments.

[Africa, June 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that the Prime Minister made a commitment and confirmed that we are on track to double our aid to Africa, as stipulated in the 2005 agreement reached at Gleneagles.

[International Cooperation, June 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to Africa, allow me to remind the members of the commitment made by the Prime Minister, who is currently in Berlin and who said that Canada was on track to double its aid to Africa by 2008-09.

That being said, with all due respect to the member, our government has set targets it can meet, which is something the Bloc Québécois will never be able to do.

[International Cooperation, June 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to remind the member that in our most recent budget, we reiterated our 8% commitment to international aid, and we also announced $300 million in additional funds.

Furthermore, we are committed to ensuring that our international aid meets the highest standards of transparency and effectiveness.

[Africa, June 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. The baselines presented in budget 2005, that is, the previous government's budget, contained errors. The real baseline used at the G-8 summit at Gleneagles was in fact $1.05 billion.

[Africa, June 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I prefer to take the Prime Minister's word for it, particularly when it comes to statements made on the international scene. Here is a report released on June 1, 2007, by the G-8 research group from the University of Toronto and another research group from the University of Moscow. They congratulate Canada and state: “Canada has fully met its commitments in terms of debt relief to Africa and security”.

[Africa, June 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the opposition said they were against the budget before they even read it.

That said, this is where we stand right now in terms of our budget for Africa. Based on the figures released in 2005-06, we have reached $1.7 billion, which is already over halfway to our goal of $2.1 billion in 2008-09.

[Africa, June 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what sources the hon. member is using. I can confirm that, yesterday, the Prime Minister clearly stated that we are on track to double our assistance to Africa by 2008-09.

[Africa, June 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2006, we announced $250 million in contributions to the global fight against polio, malaria and AIDS.

[Africa, June 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that our government has confirmed its commitment to increasing the international assistance budget by 8%. I would also like to mention that the Prime Minister pointed out to his G-8 partners that we are on track to meet our commitment to double our assistance to Africa.