Foreign Affairs committee  I think we should be open-minded in the sense that we must preserve the assets we have and support them. That will be the first signal that the Government of Canada is really putting in resources and making sure there's a Canadian brand. That doesn't exclude the possibility of studying and analyzing how we could create an umbrella organization, as you described it, Anita.

Foreign Affairs committee  May I just say something? This may sound a little crude, but I'm not in favour of outsourcing Canadian values. That's fundamentally my point. If we want to have an image in the world and we want to continue having the good brand we have, we have to be behind it and take charge of that brand and not be afraid of being Canadian.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think we should take leadership, and we should put in the resources; in other words, walk the talk. I think what we're doing in Venezuela.... I want everybody here to realize that this is the very first time in the history of Latin America that Latin American leaders go to talk and say to the president of Venezuela, “You must leave.”

Foreign Affairs committee  One comment you made is to make sure that the organizations that are functioning are not disturbed or distracted by the creation of a new organization. I am very biased. I think the Parliamentary Centre is very well positioned to do a lot of work. So is CANADEM. It's the idea of preserving what assets we already have.

Foreign Affairs committee  The first question is the toughest one. The United Nations system, as you know, is a big conglomerate of very distinct missions and different mandates. I am mainly concerned about what I've experienced in the field, which is that it's not always very easy for people to understand what exactly they want to achieve.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. It's a real honour to appear before you following some distinguished witnesses prior to our visit. The witnesses have made three persuasive arguments, which I think we need to highlight: the increased global need for democracy development, the need to regularize the funding and resource allocation, and the opportunity for Canadian experience and expertise to bloom.