Foreign Affairs committee  Unfortunately, I'd need some time to think about that. I can't think of any examples right now, but I agree with what Mr. Dongier said. The agri-food sector is an important one in Africa, so we have to work with small and medium-sized businesses and with the communities there. Most importantly, that has to be done ethically.

Foreign Affairs committee  I would say that, unfortunately, the act enacted by Bill S‑211 doesn't do what we would like a due diligence law to do, which is more than just a reporting exercise. We would like it to cover all human rights. Unfortunately, that's not what this act does. The act doesn't require companies to take action, either.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes—

Foreign Affairs committee  Okay, thank you. I agree with the points Mr. Harrington raised. There's one more thing I want to say. I worked with Global Affairs Canada, so I know there are lots of extremely competent and dedicated people in that department. That's not the problem. However, moving people from one position to another makes it very difficult to establish long-term relationships with agents.

Foreign Affairs committee  I would just like to remind everyone that tax dollars also fund Canadian civil society organizations working in international development. They don't have a lot of funding sources. These groups don't generally get funding from private foundations. A significant portion of their funding comes from official development assistance, so that would have a significant impact on the sector.

Foreign Affairs committee  Over the past 10 to 20 years or more, mining companies, including Canadian ones, have often been accused of human rights violations in Africa and elsewhere. This is a major problem. Canada created this office, which has tremendous potential to investigate these allegations but doesn't currently have the tools to do so.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. I'm from the development sector, so I would obviously encourage greater engagement in that sector. I'm not saying that economic engagement isn't important, but it's important to remember that development activities also promote economic development in Africa.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, small and medium-sized organizations across Canada do excellent work. I have nothing against large organizations, which also do excellent work, but the work of smaller organizations is often overlooked. Many of them have partnerships dating back 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, or even longer in some cases, and they're well established in communities.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Bergeron. It was also my understanding that Canada had made a commitment. We'd have to look for the actual document, though, because I don't have it here. Having said that, yes, that's been the premise of our work for many years. Some fiscal years can be tougher than others.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. I would first like to thank the committee for inviting me as part of this study to testify on behalf of the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale, or AQOCI. Our association brings together 75 international co-operation and solidarity organizations based in Quebec that work with more than 1,300 local partners in 112 countries around the world to eradicate the causes of poverty and build a world based on the principles of justice, inclusion, equality and respect for human rights.

Foreign Affairs committee  First, you asked whether we should review the percentage rather than the countries of focus in the region. In fact, I would say that both have to be reviewed. As I mentioned in my presentation, the 90% seems high to me. We have not done any studies to see what percentage would be more appropriate, but it seems to me that if we only have 10% left to respond to emergencies, that is not sufficient.

Foreign Affairs committee  Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity of doing that research. I don't know of any, but there may be people who have studied the question more in-depth.

Foreign Affairs committee  Could you repeat the first question? I missed the beginning of the first sentence.

Foreign Affairs committee  It's difficult. When CIDA and Foreign Affairs were fused, I worked for the Canadian Council for International Cooperation. A lot of people were opposed to the fusion. We felt that it depended on the end purpose of this fusion. If the purpose of these three entities was to pursue Canada's commercial interests, that fusion did not seem like a good idea to us.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. I will do my presentation in French. Thank you very much, esteemed members of the committee. On behalf of the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale, Quebec's association of international cooperation organizations, AQOCI, I thank you for inviting us to testify this afternoon in the context of your study on Canada's countries of focus for bilateral development assistance.