Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, once again, I would like to remind the House that this is the only United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees. Since Canada renewed its funding to the agency, there has been a vast improvement in terms of follow-up and monitoring, including with respect to school books.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am pleased to be here to present the international assistance provisions in the main estimates. We have also accomplished many things in the past year. That is why I would like to share some thoughts on what we have achieved and our next steps. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, already talked about planned spending on peace and security, climate change, and trade.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I cannot say whether that will be outlined in a mandate letter, but there will be a well-defined mandate. We are currently in a period of transition and implementation. Certain directives have been issued. We will share more of that information on another occasion.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we consider the $300 million to be starting capital. Over the years, we will have the opportunity to see how this new tool is working and the results it is producing. We have a lot of confidence in it. The goal is to get the private sector interested in investing in developing countries and to make sure that those investments are made in keeping with all the rules and with the values that Canadians hold dear.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we renewed the general funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and are allocating $20 million to that cause, including $5 million specifically for humanitarian aid.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I would like to remind my colleagues that my mandate involves refocusing Canada’s development assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable. There is no doubt that Palestinian refugees are among the world's poorest and most vulnerable. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is the only agency that provides humanitarian assistance to that group.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I can assure my colleague that nutrition and vaccination are important components of our international aid policy. Actually, we are very proud of the organization that used to be called Micronutrient Initiative and is now known as Nutrition International. This is a Canadian initiative that we are very proud of and will continue to support.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, my colleague will be pleased to know that we are continuing with the maternal and newborn child health initiative. In fact, we have enhanced it with that additional $650 million to make sure we look after the health of mothers and newborns together with all aspects of sexual and reproductive health.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, after conducting an in-depth analysis of the situation concerning the development finance institute, the DFI, we concluded that it would be best to establish DFI as a subsidiary of Export Development Canada in the interest of effectiveness and efficiency, given that EDC has expertise that we can leverage.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for the question. Absolutetly, I believe that there is no doubt that Canada is back on the world stage and on the international development scene. We conducted a major consultation over the past year, and 15,000 people from 65 countries took part.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we are indeed finalizing the international development policy for release before the summer. I will summarize into three basic points what we heard during all these consultations and what will be found in this policy. First, we have human dignity and human rights. Then we have the emancipation of women, which is an extremely important issue.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, last week, I was very proud to join the Prime Minister in announcing the creation of a new development finance institute. After thorough analysis, we decided to make the institute a subsidiary of Export Development Canada because the evidence shows that this will be the most effective and efficient mechanism.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that, ever since Canada restored funding to this UN agency for Palestinian refugees, we have been following it very closely, and Canada's presence at the table is making a difference. We are ensuring that background checks are done on all financial services employees.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, since we restored funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, we have been monitoring the organization's activities very closely, and we take all allegations very seriously. Since Canada has been at the table, the organization has been monitored more and more closely.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, once again, I can assure the House that we are closely monitoring the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. We are also reviewing the educational materials, and we are satisfied with the progress that is being made. Even the Israeli ministry of defence made a statement regarding this organization.