No benefits for the poorest countries

Re: Do More With Less, Morneau Tells Overseas Aid Groups, March 28

It is disingenuous of the Trudeau government to tout the implementation of a new development finance institution while at the same time announcing that there is no plan to increase international assistance.

Foreign aid is the biggest source of international funding for the poorest countries in the world, including those in the grip of conflict or natural disaster. Loans from DFIs, on the other hand, mainly benefit middle-income countries — not surprising, since they have the capacity to take on debt.

Depriving the poorest in order to help the less poor is hardly a matter of pride for a country that proclaims its humanism and aspires to be a world leader.

Chitra Ramaswami, Calgary