Canada’s foreign aid rhetoric falls short in reality
When it comes to international aid, Stephen Harper might outshine Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. While Trudeau is happy to pose with Malala Yousafzai and offer honorary citizenship, his government is certainly not doing much by way of international aid for countries that need a boost to escape the cycle of poverty. It is well documented that when […]
While reporters watch Trump’s tweets, famines kill hundreds in parts of Africa
WINNIPEG—In late May, the government of Canada announced its Famine Relief Fund. The fund was launched to galvanize Canadians into helping the estimated 20 million people facing starvation in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and other countries in Africa. The announcement generated a bit of attention: a brief mention in the TV and radio news, a […]
Defence is not the sole guarantor of our security
The new foreign aid policy foresees that for every dollar of federal income, defence, which is now receiving just shy of seven pennies, will increase significantly while international assistance remains frozen at around 1.7 pennies. Defence is not the sole guarantor of our security. International assistance plays a key role in establishing a world that is more […]
Foreign aid leadership is questionable without money to back it up
International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the Liberal government’s new feminist international assistance policy last week. It is a bold approach that will ensure our international assistance program looks at potential partners and recipients through a feminist lens. Minister Bibeau states that Canada will work toward increasing funding of local women’s organizations, with a view to […]
Putting foreign policy to paper: Freeland largely crafted speech herself, with help from ‘lengthy’ talks with PM
Last week’s 4,000-word foreign policy speech reveals weeks worth of work, cross-departmental collaboration, and though many likely had a hand in the document, insiders say it was crafted in large part by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. With its talk of “hard power,” Canada being an “essential country” and taking a strong stance as a […]
Here’s hoping for education funding boost for those in need abroad
The recent terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us of the tragic cost of keeping important issues in the dark. This June 5 to 7, the replenishment conference for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will be held in Ottawa. This little-known organization is the instrument that the international community has created precisely to combat obscurantism, and […]
Helping the poor in Canada, abroad shouldn’t be zero-sum game
In a troubled and complicated world, we need to maintain focus on helping those in the greatest need. Many complain that we should be spending our foreign-aid money at home where we have extensive poverty but lack the will to deal with it. Being poor in Canada is a luxury compared to the lives lived […]
Good on political activities panel for backing a charitable democracy
Every once and a while, one gets a whiff of real democracy and it’s like a breath of fresh air. The Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities just released its 31-page report, after listening to and wading through a whopping 20,000 submissions. The process (which included online submissions and roundtable discussions) and the results […]
Canada’s foreign aid groups are ripe for disruption
What would happen if the leaders of Canada’s major relief and development groups got into the same room and were told to set aside their organizational interests, to dream up a new model to finance programs that serve the poorest and most vulnerable people around the globe? That’s a question that Nicolas Moyer, former head of […]
The international community must pull-together for South Sudan — before it’s too late
The sense of optimism that emerged from South Sudan in July 2011 was palpable. The birth of the world’s youngest country might finally bring peace to the people who had endured the continent’s longest-running civil war. At least that’s what the South Sudanese had hoped for. That’s what we all had hoped for. When I […]
