UN General Assembly
1994

question are no doubt modest when compared with those invested elsewhere, but they represent none the less a burden that is already significant and growing larger at a time when many of our countries, Canada most definitely included, are going through a difficult period of budgetary adjustment. Our taxpayers do not question the need to contribute to the United Nations, but they are entitled to expect that their contributions will be spent judiciously. That is why we attach such great importance to the need for sound management of the system’s resources. The recent creation of the new position of inspector general should help tighten controls and improve administrative practices. There is also a need to review budgetary procedures in order to make them more transparent and to simplify those that govern peace-keeping operations. Reviewing the scale of assessments is always a perilous undertaking, but I believe the need to do so has become urgent. The current system suffers from serious distortions and no longer reflects properly Member States’ ability to pay. We hope the General Assembly will make