Canada’s international development and food aid reputation is strong but in the process of being diminished, says an international report card.
It recommends a shakeup in government aid agencies and more financial commitment to the file.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) worried last week that after a decade of expanded aid, recent Canadian budgets have started to reduce that support.
It also said the Conservative government has announced a more focused aid and development support plan that concentrates on target countries.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
Still, Canada remains one of the most generous in the world in responding to aid and food crises.
“The DAC welcomes Canada’s efforts to make its assistance more focused while improving accountability,” the June 19 OECD report said.
“It now recommends establishing a clear, simple and consistent vision for Canadian aid, one that is anchored sustainably within its foreign policy and that remains stable over the long term.”
The OECD report noted that Canada doubled its aid budget to $5.3 billion from 2001 to 2011.
“However, some of these gains are likely to be reversed, given that Canada’s (aid budget) shrank by more than five percent in real terms between 2010 and 2011 and is set to fall further in 2012.”
The most recent federal budget targeted international aid for major cuts in the effort to get Canada out of deficit.
The report said Canada’s aid contribution of 0.31 percent of the national economy makes it the eighth largest OECD aid contributor.
However, the goal agreed to by Canada and set by former prime minister Lester Pearson is more than double that level.
“Canada still needs to draw up a timetable for achieving the international commitment of giving 0.7 percent of its gross national income,” the OECD said.
The report noted that Canada has reduced by more than half the number of countries it targets for support.
It said the government should write that new strategy more explicitly into its foreign policy vision.
The aid and development policy requires “a clear, simple and consistent vision for Canada’s aid along with details of how its new approach to development co-operation is to be translated into objectives, strategy and programs.”
The OECD report also delved into personnel matters at the Canadian International Development Agency, suggesting that staff discontent is part of the problem.
