McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, July 5, 2021

A decade ago, a few staff members at a famous human rights organization approached the organization where I worked, seeking advice on how to evaluate their work. They knew that they did meticulous and well-regarded research, that they got good media coverage and that their donors liked what they were producing. But were they actually making a difference in terms of people’s enjoyment of their human rights? They did not know.

In the ...

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, June 8, 2021

When Mark Carney appeared at the recent Liberal Party convention and promised “to do whatever I can” to support that party, eyebrows were raised. After all, technocrats like Carney, former Governor of the Banks of both Canada and England, do not usually tread into partisan politics even after they retire from public service. But Carney has gone even further, advising UK Prime Minister ...

Blog by Stephen Brown, April 29, 2021

Canada talks an excellent game when it comes to foreign aid. Successive Canadian governments tout impressive-sounding new initiatives and brag about the country’s leadership on the world stage. Most recently, the Trudeau government has emphasized the importance of pandemic-related relief in low- and middle-income countries and Justin Trudeau himself has led the call for “equal global access to a COVID-19 vaccine.”

At first blush, the current government’s rhetoric on foreign aid seems to ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Angela Keller-Herzog, April 28, 2021

The federal government’s Budget 2021 aims “to build a healthier, more inclusive, and more equal Canada” and to address the social issues resulting from the COVID pandemic and the climate crisis. But sadly, the recovery plan set out in this budget lacks ambition in tackling the climate emergency. It is a plan from a government that has already failed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the six years ...

McLeod Group blog by Morgane Rosier and Stephen Brown, April 26, 2021

The foreign policy content of the Canadian government’s long-awaited Budget 2021 is disappointing, especially in light of the government’s claims to be delivering a specifically feminist foreign policy. In this blog, we summarize three common threads from the “hot takes” provided by experts in the fields of trade, aid, diplomacy, defence and environment during an online Continue Reading →

McLeod Group guest blog by John Cameron, Emmanuel Solomon and William Clarke, April 8, 2021

Picture an NGO promotional video with images of a child with a hesitant smile somewhere in the global South. Now close your eyes. What do you hear? What music and sounds accompany the images? What stories do the music and sound tell about global poverty and development and what stereotypes do they reinforce or challenge?

Advertisers, fundraisers, film makers, psychologists and musicians have all long understood that music ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Mario Renaud, Robert Letendre, Nicole St-Martin, Nigel Martin, Yves Pétillon and Pierre Véronneau, April 6, 2021

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was created in 1968 to help developing countries improve their social and economic situation in the context of decolonization and independence. In the following years, CIDA and a large number of Canadian organizations were able to build up a solid body of expertise to meet the evolving needs of developing countries. In 2013, the ...

McLeod Group blog by Em Mijares and Kirsten Van Houten, March 29, 2021

On March 7, 2021, police and military in the Philippines killed nine human rights defenders and arrested six more in what human rights groups have dubbed “Bloody Sunday”. Community organizers Melvin Dasigao, Mark Lee Coros Bacasno, farmers Abner Damas Esto, Edward Damas Esto from Rodriguez, Rizal; Dumagat community leaders Puroy Berhemedo dela Cruz and Randy Berhemedo dela Cruz from Tanay, Rizal; activist couple Ariel Evangelista and Chai Lemita-Evangelista ...

McLeod Group blog, March 11, 2021

This is the second half of an interview with Ketty Nivyabandi, Amnesty International Canada’s new Secretary General. The first half is available here.

The McLeod Group: Have you collaborated with Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise? Do you believe it is an effective instrument to make Canadian companies responsible?

Ketty Nivyabandi: It is not an effective instrument yet. We are really disappointed so far. When it was announced – and Amnesty played a big ...

McLeod Group blog, March 10, 2021

Ketty Nivyabandi was appointed Amnesty International Canada’s new Secretary General in September 2020. She agreed to share with the McLeod Group a few thoughts on her new role and her vision of Canada’s foreign policy.

The McLeod Group: Could you please introduce yourself?

Ketty Nivyabandi: I am from Burundi, in Central Eastern Africa. I was living there until 2015 when I came to Canada. I studied international relations and also minored in journalism and started working in ...