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.

More than 50 of those organizations are currently active in over 40 countries in Africa. They highly concentrate their activities in the Sahel countries, including Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With respect to Canada's engagement with countries on the African continent, in our view, the current situation does not lend itself to Canada's withdrawal, but rather to reinforced engagement in the region. In the context of a growing number of crises, including political, climate and security crises, it's more important than ever that we support the partners we've been working with for many years and show local communities that Canada stands in solidarity with them in their struggles to eliminate poverty, foster economic development and social justice and combat insecurity and climate change.

Quebec's and Canada's international co-operation organizations have established long-standing partnerships with local groups that give them a thorough understanding of the social realities and real needs of populations in many African communities. This gives them a unique advantage for designing relevant, responsive and effective programs.

Given that certain donor countries have disengaged, particularly in the Sahel region, Canada can step in and could play a leadership role in the Sahel countries and the francophonie in particular. Because of our long history of partnership with these nations, we can contribute significantly to their development and stability. Canada is one of the few countries that can still intervene in the Sahel region precisely because of its respect for local populations and its commitment to working in partnership with them.

In our recent consultations with our members, some mentioned that regions where international co-operation activities have been supported by Canada in the past are already more resilient in the face of the current polycrisis. This shows that our commitment is working and that we need to maintain this commitment where we've already established strong ties.

Beyond its approach, however, Canada's engagement in the region must also involve increased funding.

In 1970, the OECD countries, including Canada, committed to spending 0.7% of their gross national income annually on international assistance. Unfortunately, 54 years later, Canada has barely met half that target. Countries such as Sweden, Norway, Germany and Denmark have achieved it. Others, like Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland, are close. So why is Canada not succeeding? Increased funding is critical to ensure that we have the resources to effectively support development in Africa.

Finally, Canada also has an opportunity to stand out from other international players in the region by ensuring that its businesses behave responsibly on the African continent. We must act now, because there have been too many allegations of human rights violations in recent years. Canada must quickly pass corporate human rights and environmental due diligence legislation to prevent abuses by some of our businesses in Africa and elsewhere in the world. It must also give the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise real investigative powers to compel companies facing allegations of human rights abuses to testify and produce documents. Canada promised to do so when the office was set up.

Thank you.