Scheer’s foreign aid proposal shameful

So Andrew Scheer, if elected, would cut Canada’s international assistance (foreign aid) by 25 per cent.

He intends to pay for tax cuts and credits at home by denying countries that he thinks don’t deserve our help. Already, the amount that he claims is going to such countries has been proven false, and the method by which the Conservatives arrived at the cut-off figure has been called bizarre and arbitrary.

Most of the Canadian aid that these countries received was for disaster relief, food assistance or international security. Hardly objectionable. Furthermore, applying the Conservatives’ proposed cut-off for Canadian aid would disqualify other countries, such as Bangladesh and India, from any emergency humanitarian aid in future. This would have serious consequences for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Mr. Scheer says that Canada needs to use foreign aid only to support the Canadian values that we hold dear. But these shameful proposed cuts would actually diminish those values. As the president of the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development has pointed out, how could we justify immunizing fewer children, denying people drinkable water, and turning our backs on refugees in conflict zones?

We should actually be increasing Canadian aid, not making drastic cuts to it. Both Liberal and Conservative governments have allowed our share of international aid to dwindle to only 0.28 per cent of our gross national income, well below our United Nations commitment of 0.7 per cent and well below our fair share.

To truly reflect Canadian values, we need to engage more in the world, not less. Yes, our government should help improve our lives, but not at the expense of helping others. We can, and should, do both. Therese Jelinski, Saskatoon