Canadian funding doesn’t measure up to lofty foreign-aid goals

When Emchjargal Dambii surveys the small slipper factory she’s managing in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia she can hardly believe her eyes. When she signed up for an urban gardening project supported by the Canadian government six years ago, she never thought it would radically change her life. “I just wanted to plant vegetables,” she says with a laugh. Instead, the project, which is supported by Canadian Foodgrains Bank member ADRA Canada, integrated home gardening activities with small-business skills development and community organization, such as self-help groups. Last winter, Dambii, 56, and others decided to start producing slippers for additional income during the winter months. Dambii became the supervisor for up to 30 workers who card wool, wet and stretch it into felt, and carefully hand-stitch slippers together. “I don’t really think of myself as a leader,” she says. “But I’ve become a leader. That’s the thing I didn’t imagine before.” Dambii is the embodiment of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. The policy has made gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls the main thrust of Canada’s development program. These goals have been lauded around the world, and have the potential to continue transforming lives for whole communities. The funding Canada is putting toward achieving these targets, however, is not commensurate with the needs—or the lofty goals outlined in the policy. The 2018 budget introduced modest increases to the international assistance budget over the coming years. This was a positive indication that the Canadian government continues to view poverty reduction as an important part of our global role. Emchjargal Dambii shows off a pair of hand-stitched felt slippers from the slipper factory she’s managing in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photograph courtesy of Carol Thiessen/Canadian Foodgrains Bank But there’s room for Canada to do much more. For example, a closer look at the numbers shows the announced budget increase will simply allow aid levels to keep pace with Canada’s growing economy. While the dollars invested in international assistance will increase, our aid levels as a percentage of our gross national income (GNI) will stay close to 0.26 per cent. This leaves us well below what similar countries give: an average of 0.52 per cent of GNI—and close to historic lows for Canada. As the 2019 budget approaches, the Foodgrains Bank and other development organizations are calling on the Canadian government to commit to further increases. We are joined by thousands of people from across Canada who are telling the government that “When it comes to ending global poverty and hunger, I care.” On World Food Day, Oct. 16, Foodgrains Bank supporters will gather in Ottawa to deliver thousands of postcards to the prime minister—signed at fall harvests, church services, and kitchen tables across the country—as the first gambit in an ongoing I Care campaign. They are telling the Canadian government that they support a strong, and growing, aid budget. They believe that Canadian generosity matters in the lives of millions who live in chronic poverty. It has certainly mattered to Dambii and women like her in Mongolia. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 sent Mongolia into an economic tailspin, from which it is still recovering. Unemployment and poverty rates have soared. Women, in particular, struggle to find secure work, with equal pay. Dambii was long unemployed and felt socially excluded from community life. When she saw an invitation to join the gardening project she jumped at the opportunity. Soon she was leading her self-help group, and in her soft-spoken way, sharing her life with others. “I didn’t even notice myself, but my friends have noticed that I have changed a lot,” she says. It took some strategic investments in training, including around gender roles and rights, the promotion of working collectively, and some key assets, such as materials to build a solar passive greenhouse, to enable Dambii and others to seize economic opportunities. She continues to grow her own vegetables, preserve them for the long winters, and eat a more diverse diet. Her self-help group is promoting vegetable use in its community health clinics and spreading the word about good nutrition. And while the slipper business is still developing its market, the members have plans to turn it into a formal co-operative. Dambii is already transforming her life. Women everywhere are equally capable of achieving their dreams, with a little support. Canada must commit to making meaningful increases in our aid budget if we are to attain the important goals that have been set. Carol Thiessen is a senior policy adviser at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The Hill Times

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Canadian funding doesn’t measure up to lofty foreign-aid goals

The feds should boost support for women’s empowerment if they want to meet their Feminist International Assistance Policy targets.

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