An international coalition of development activists says Canada has
fallen close to the bottom of the developed country pack in its foreign
aid spending and should pull up its foreign aid socks.
“Canada ranked 17th among 22 aid donors in the year 2000, a shameful
drop from sixth in 1995,” said a report by Brian Tomlinson of the
Canadian Council for International Co-operation that was published in
the international publication The Reality of Aid 2002.
The international aid goal is for nations to spend 0.7 percent of their
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federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
annual generated wealth on aid. Canada’s contribution has fallen to
0.25 percent of gross national product from a 1975 high of 0.54 percent.
Tomlinson said the federal government needs to start by giving more
money to the Canadian International Development Agency.
“In order to raise Canadian official development assistance to 0.35
percent of GNP by 2005-06 as a step toward the international target of
0.7 percent, CCIC has estimated that cumulative increases of at least
$400 million are required for each of the next four years.”
The last federal budget promised more CIDA funding for Afghanistan and
Africa, but there were no promises of sustained budget increase.
The March 19 report, released on the eve of a United Nations conference
in Mexico to discuss financing for development, said Canada is not
alone in its declining commitment to help poor countries.
Aid and development support from virtually all developed countries fell
through the 1990s.
At the same time, rich countries and their international agencies such
as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have been
imposing conditions on development help that force poor countries to
impose free market policies that hurt their citizens and help foreign
investors, the report said.
And rich countries undermine the possible beneficial effects of their
aid by setting up barriers to trade.
The development activists predicted the recently launched round of
World Trade Organization negotiations will make things worse.
“The WTO ministerial in November 2001 kick started new trade
negotiations that will no doubt further marginalize poor countries and
people living in poverty, who saw few benefits from the agreements
emerging from the Uruguay Round.”
