Canada first or foreign aid?
“How can it be, for instance, that in its first two years, the Trudeau government spent less on basic education, a topic so fundamental to girls worldwide, than the Stephen Harper government 10 years ago? Credible leadership is about more than selfies and heartfelt promises.” JEAN-FRANÇOIS TARDIF GATINEAU, QUE.
Re We could do better on aid, Editorial, Jan. 16 Thank you so much for your acknowledgement of Canada’s need to do more on foreign aid.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks proudly about our progressive internationalism, intended to imbue international assistance and trade with our values, reflecting, among other things, gender equality and the education and empowerment of girls around the world.
Canadians would be shocked to know that the actual dollars we contribute to international development are at a 50-year low.
Canada could start by meeting the target set by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to meet their goals for the coming years. As the outgoing G7 president, Italy championed global education and encouraged all G7 countries to increase their support to the GPE. If Canada steps up in this regard, it would make the feminist international assistance policy truly shine, and add lustre to our G7 presidency for 2018. Sherry Moran, Ottawa When I saw this headline, my immediate thought was “Yeah!” The Star is getting down on things like affordable housing, child poverty, transit, addiction, a failing health system and a whole long list of things the federal Liberals are not doing.
Sadly, as I read, further, I discovered you feel we should look after others before our own. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Let us fix our country’s ills first. Out governments waste enough money on failures here; why spread the disease? Nicholas Brooks, Toronto Your editorial really hit the mark. To be recognized as being a true global leader, whether on Korean détente or feminist issues, the government needs to be seen as willing to back its words with cash.
How can it be, for instance, that in its first two years, the Trudeau government spent less on basic education, a topic so fundamental to girls worldwide, than the Stephen Harper government 10 years ago? Credible leadership is about more than selfies and heartfelt promises. Jean-François Tardif, Gatineau, Que. Bravo to your editorial board for exposing Canada’s dirty little secret; namely that we are not nearly as generous as most of us think we are.
But as tempting as it is to criticize the current government, we have been neglecting our global responsibilities for two decades, as successive governments have raided aid budgets like a cookie jar in the name of reducing the deficit.
Our pre-1995 historical average has been 0.46 per cent of Canada’s gross national income (GNI), compared to the current 0.26 per cent. A 2017 report, “Assessing Canada’s Global Engagement Gap,” concludes out failure to maintain that average has cost more than seven million lives.
The G7 presidency offers an opportunity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be the real global leader he is capable of being. But his legitimacy as such will be put to the test by the 2018 budget. His government must bring in a “Canada is back” budget instead of another “Canada First” one. Stephen St. Denis, Ottawa I would like to congratulate the Star on its courageous editorial. Canadians don’t like to hear how cheap we really are.
Over the past decade, Canada has substantially and consistently cut its foreign aid and, most particularly, its support of basic education.
In 1990, Canada led a revolution in child survival that reduced child deaths by more than 50 per cent in two decades.
Canada’s current posturing at being a global leader rings hollow because the world sees Canada for the cheapskate that it really is. What an example we are to other rich nations.
Sweden, with barely a quarter of our population, has a larger foreign-aid program. Perhaps Finance Minister Bill Morneau could aim to at least equal that level in his 2018 budget. Larry Ladell, Ottawa Thank you for this thoughtful piece. It is true that many government promises on foreign aid ring hollow, but the Prime Minister has an opportunity to change course. The Global Partnership for Education hosts a funding conference in Dakar in early February. Canada, as a demonstration that it pays our own good fortune forward, should commit $260 million over three years to help educate the poorest children in conflict zones. Randy Rudolph, Calgary The government’s recently announced Feminist International Assistance Policy could have far-reaching and long-lasting positive impacts for global peace. But — and it’s a big but — the policy’s success will depend on the level of financial support and delivery.
Through the policy, Canada will commit 95 per cent of its bilateral international development assistance to women’s rights and gender equality, with a focus on women’s community-based organizations.
The case for supporting the latter is compelling. Research shows that peace processes involving women are more equitable, inclusive and sustainable.
It is well documented that grassroots women’s organizations in conflict and post-conflict zones can bring together warring parties to resolve differences through dialogue, challenge traditional patriarchal norms that disempower women, cultivate male allies, bring trauma counselling to war survivors and empower women to lead the work in rebuilding communities.
The 2018 federal budget is an opportunity for Canada to invest in international peace building by increasing its foreign aid from 0.26 per cent of gross national income to 0.7 per cent, and by supporting grassroots organizations through diverse and responsive funding mechanisms. Jim Davis, Kairos Canada Send email to lettertoed@thestar.ca; via Web at thestar.ca/ letters. Include full name, address, phone numbers of sender; only name and city will be published. Letter writers should disclose any personal interest they have in the subject matter. We reserve the right to edit letters, which run 50-150 words.