McLeod Group blog, September 28, 2020

It was déjà vu all over again. On June 16, Prime Minister Boris Johnston announced that the Department for International Development (DFID) would be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The new department, called the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is led by the Foreign Secretary. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, “UK aid will be given new prominence within our ambitious international policy. The Foreign Secretary will ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Ruby Dagher, September 15, 2020

Given the ties between Canada and Lebanon, it was not surprising that that the Canadian government quickly announced a high-profile response to the humanitarian crisis prompted by the massive explosions in the heart of Beirut on August 4. Now, over a month later, the time is ripe for an initial stocktaking on this assistance, including its size, speed and partnerships. Sadly, there are serious concerns with all ...

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, September 11, 2020

Following months of bad press, faced with multiple investigations, and having been dropped by several corporate donors, the Kielburger brothers have announced that they will “wind down [the] Canadian operations” of WE Charity. This move comes only weeks after WE Charity registered as a federal lobbyist and its founders assured a parliamentary committee that the organization was financially sound. ...

McLeod Group, August 20, 2020

Dear Minister Freeland,

Please accept our sincere congratulations not only on being appointed Minister of Finance, but also for being the first woman named to that post in 153 years of Confederation. The road to gender equality is a long one indeed, and your name is in the history books. Bravo!

We write to you today to give you some unsolicited advice. Since you have been a Cabinet minister before, you will already have received lots of unsolicited ...

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, August 10, 2020

Long before the COVID-induced recession slashed Canadians’ contributions to charities and the WE scandal threatened to undermine Canadians’ confidence in NGOs, there were deep-seated problems in the way that Canadian registered charities got funded. Canadian international development NGOs do well if they do child sponsorship or work in humanitarian emergencies, but ...

McLeod Group blog by Stephen Brown and Laura Macdonald, August 5, 2020

The voting for the next head of the Conservative Party of Canada has begun. The winner, to be announced on August 21, will become the Leader of the Official Opposition. In the midst of the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic and the headline-capturing WE scandal, the leadership race has attracted very little attention – and the candidates’ respective policies even less.

It’s worth paying attention, however, ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Rebecca Tiessen, July 29, 2020

The WE scandal has raised serious concerns about the WE organization’s links to the Trudeau government and questionable decision-making processes that led to it being designated the only organization able to carry out an ambitious volunteer program for Canadian students. In the midst of the evolving WE scandal, the group’s co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, announced the organization would put WE Days on hold and return to ...

McLeod Group blog by Lauchlan T. Munro, July 20, 2020

Collateral damage from the WE student volunteer program scandal continues to pile up: allegations of racism and white saviourism, a board in meltdown, questions about “complex” and “unusual” organizational structures where money flows from the charity to the privately held for-profit business… The situation is so dire that WE’s founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, ...

McLeod Group blog, June 30, 2020

Julia Sánchez, the former President-CEO of the Canadian Council of International Co-operation (CCIC), recently took up her new position as head of ActionAid International, a major global development NGO that fights poverty and inequality through a combination of program delivery, research and advocacy. As she was getting ready to leave Ottawa, the McLeod Group interviewed her about her past work at CCIC and upcoming challenges. Yesterday’s Continue Reading →

McLeod Group blog, June 29, 2020

Julia Sánchez served as President-CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC) from August 2011 to July 2018, a tumultuous time for international development NGOs in Canada. A few days before she took up her new position as Secretary General of ActionAid International on March 1, 2020, the McLeod Group sat down with Julia to talk about her reflections on that period.

When Julia took over the position ...