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HOW MUCH FOREIGN AID?

HOW MUCH FOREIGN AID?

McLeod Group Blog by Ian Smillie, July 22, 2016

Buried deep in the government’s discussion paper on its foreign aid review is a tiny comment about aid volumes. It is a warning that whatever you might want to tell the government about aid, don’t bother talking about numbers. The UN spending target of 0.7% of gross national income for rich countries is called ‘unrealistic… in the current fiscal context.’

This is almost verbatim what every Canadian government has said about the ...

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WOMEN’S HEALTH: KNOWLEDGE, EVIDENCE AND COMMITMENT PLEASE

WOMEN’S HEALTH: KNOWLEDGE, EVIDENCE AND COMMITMENT PLEASE

McLeod Group Guest Blog by Alison Y. Riddle, July 12, 2016

The lack of public consultation and evidence-based policy-making that characterized the Conservative government resulted in a dilution of Canada’s historically strong reputation as a global human rights champion, especially when it came to the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights on the international stage. The recent independent evaluation of Canada’s Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) Initiative that Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched at the 2010 G8 ...

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CANADA AND FRAGILE STATES

CANADA AND FRAGILE STATES

A McLeod Group Blog by Carolyn McAskie, July 8, 2016

In its review of International Assistance, currently underway, Global Affairs Canada asks what role Canada should play in addressing ‘fragile states.’

Fragile states are among the poorest countries—often either conflict-ridden or emerging from conflict. They are unable or unwilling to provide the core functions of a state (governance, safety and security, management of resources) or to deliver basic services to their citizens (health, education, agricultural inputs, economic security). The concept captures both poverty ...

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HUMANITARIAN DILEMMAS

HUMANITARIAN DILEMMAS

McLeod Group Blog by Hunter McGill, July 5, 2016

The government’s current consultation process on international assistance includes several questions about humanitarian (emergency) assistance. There is no denying that there is a pressing need for humanitarian aid in many parts of the world, with estimates of populations at risk and in need of help running as high as 125 million. The total budget for humanitarian assistance in 2015 reached US$25 billion. So it is no surprise that over 9000 ...

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OPAQUE TRANSPARENCY IN CANADA’S FOREIGN AID

OPAQUE TRANSPARENCY IN CANADA’S FOREIGN AID

McLeod Group Blog, June 30, 2016

By Liam Swiss and Stephen Brown

The Canadian government has been lauded for its efforts to increase the transparency of its foreign aid. The Aid Transparency Index has ranked Canada’s bilateral aid in the “Good” category for the past few years, below only a handful of the world’s top donor agencies. The government regularly publishes open data online, including its historical project datasets and contributions to the International Aid Transparency ...

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A Feminist Foreign Policy? What about Women, Peace and Security?

A Feminist Foreign Policy? What about Women, Peace and Security?

Guest Blog by Beth Woroniuk, June 27, 2016

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declaration that he is a feminist, made while at a UN conference in March, attracted media coverage around the world. However, we have yet to see what a feminist prime minister means for Canadian foreign policy in general and how Canada approaches peace and security issues in particular.

The early indications are mixed.

The government’s decision to go ahead with selling military vehicles to Saudi Arabia does not Continue Reading →

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Policy Coherence for Development: Putting it into Practice

Policy Coherence for Development: Putting it into Practice

McLeod Group Blog by Stephen Brown, June 23, 2016

Providing foreign aid is only one among many things that countries like Canada can do to promote international development. Official development assistance (ODA) on its own is not sufficient to help developing countries radically improve the lot of their poor and marginalized people, including achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline.

A government’s policies beyond aid – including agriculture, fisheries, trade, investment, immigration, climate change, security and intellectual property ...

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THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND BUCKETS OF MONEY

THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND BUCKETS OF MONEY

McLeod Group Blog, June 20, 2016

A year ago, in July 2015, the great and the good of the world’s development community gathered in Addis Ababa to talk money at a conference on “financing for development”. It had become clear, in the lead up to the agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals, that the world’s foreign aid budgets were not going to come anywhere near the price tag. Action was required.

What emerged was an “Action Agenda” that had 134 paragraphs, ...

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The UN Development System: Running on Empty

The UN Development System: Running on Empty

McLeod Group Blog, May 31, 2016

Canada wants to regain its international reputation. But we won’t get it back with a charm offensive. Canada needs to renew support for an effective UN, with a special focus on ways in which the UN Development System is financed.

Imagine running a company and having control over only 25% of your overall budget—your core funding. Imagine the rest being controlled by 30 large investors and a score of smaller ones, each pushing you into product ...

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