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WTO: Bali ‘Breakthrough’

WTO: Bali ‘Breakthrough’

December 17, 2013

Criticisms of foreign aid usually come around eventually to trade and investment as the ‘real’ answer for growth, development and poverty reduction. This either/or debate, unhelpful at the best of times, was momentarily drowned out early in December by a tsunami of positive news about a breakthrough agreement reached at the World Trade Organization summit in Bali.

‘We have saved the WTO,’ gushed European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. The agreement represents a ‘rejuvenation of the multilateral ...

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Global Traders Need Partnerships, Not DFATD Hand-holding

December 12, 2013

The government’s new trade plan is not serious policy. It’s just repackaged old ideas, a crude political attempt to be seen to be doing something.

Let’s clarify the obvious. Canada needs to be a global trader and investor to remain a viable, competitive economy for the future. Critically, global market growth will not be in Europe or the US, but rather in developing countries with which we once had healthy trusting relationships as a development partner – something the ...

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The Philippines Typhoon: Not So Generous Canadians?

The Philippines Typhoon: Not So Generous Canadians?

November 29, 2013

When disasters strike, Canadians respond generously. At no time has this been more evident than during large calamities such as the Asian Tsunami in 2004 and the Haiti Earthquake of 2010.

But it may come as a surprise to learn that Canadians, on average, are considerably less generous than the citizens of some other countries. The current response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines provides an interesting example. In the 10 days that followed the typhoon, individual Canadians donated ...

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Idealism and Hubris

November 20, 2013

Nina Munk’s new book, The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty, has received a lot of attention in recent weeks, not least because it is well written, deals with an important subject, and because it goes after a very high-profile champion of development assistance.

It will be recalled that the economist, Jeff Sachs, Columbia University wunderkind, spent time in Poland and Russia at the end of the Cold War advising on the transition from communism to ...

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How to Hijack an Aid Program

AN OPEN LETTER TO AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER TONY ABBOTT

from Ian Smillie

October 29, 2013

Dear Tony Abbott,

The day after you led your Liberal/National Coalition to a landslide victory in September, you announced that AusAID, the Australian government’s aid agency, will be integrated into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Because many have likened this move to what Canada has done in merging CIDA with DFAIT, I thought I might give you some background information on what has happened ...

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The Harper Government’s Foreign Policy Record

October 22, 2013

There has been a lot of noise about a new realism in Canadian foreign policy—principled, not going along just to get along—and it seems a great deal of rushing around the globe by the energetic Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird. But what do we have to show for all of this? There has been a flurry of comment in the last few weeks about Mr Harper not addressing the United Nations General Assembly fall session, unlike many ...

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Changing Canadian International Development by Malign Neglect

Oct. 8, 2013

It’s easy to save money and effort—don’t buy toothbrushes, toothpaste or dental floss, never take your kids to the dentist, don’t bother with fluoridation of municipal water supplies—and in a few years the kids won’t have teeth to worry about.

There is increasing evidence that a similar but stealthy malign neglect is affecting Canada’s contribution to international development, thanks to the Harper Government. Let’s look at the evidence.

On July 14, 2013, the Ottawa Citizen reported that CIDA would underspend ...

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Cutting International Youth Internships Makes no Sense

Cutting International Youth Internships Makes no Sense

August 21, 2013

Embassy recently reported that DFATD might not be funding the International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) past March 2014. The program has run for the past 16 years, providing up to $12,000 in funding for young adults (age 19-30) to participate in 6-12 month work placements with NGOs in developing countries. IYIP was barely saved from the chopping block five years ago and a similar internship program run by DFAIT was cancelled in 2012. These training programs, Continue Reading →

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Lending for Private Sector-led Development. Another false start?

July 26, 2013

For decades development practitioners, including CIDA, have recognised the critical role of the private sector of developing countries in creating jobs for the poor.

We did not need the 2012 House Report to confuse the issue of strengthening the role of that local private sector with the promotion of Canadian offshore investment. Now, just as the very name CIDA is scratched from Canada’s international face to be replaced by the ugly acronym DFATD, there may be plans afoot ...

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Deleting the Brand

July 18, 2013

At the end of June, the day of the official name change at 200 Promenade du Portage, the CIDA headquarters sign—in darkly Orwellian fashion—was covered up with some garbage bags. The seamless transition promised by then Development Minister Julian Fantino wasn’t quite ready for prime time because the new signage had not arrived.

Within a day, however, the new lettering was up and the CIDA President had been sent away, replaced by an associate deputy minister with no experience ...

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