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Julian Fantino was the head of
the now-defunct Canadian International
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With a reduced number of focus
countries and regional offices, the aid community must have seen it coming: the
closure of the Canadian
International Development Agency. A number of aid organizations have
voiced concerns on the new direction of travel, while others remain optimistic.
The decision is stated in a document
detailing the government’s
budget plan for 2013. However, finance minister Jim Flaherty failed
to mention the change in his budget speech
on Thursday (March 21), leaving many to speculate on the finer details of
CIDA’s merger with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
CIDA chief Julian Fantino will continue to
handle the country’s international development portfolio under a new Department
of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. And, perhaps in a move to secure his
position following the demise of his agency, the government noted it will “for
the first time, enshrine in law the important roles and responsibilities of the
minister for development and humanitarian assistance.”
The move follows a build-up of the
Harper administration’s increasing interest to align aid efforts with its trade
objectives, an issue that has garnered much criticism from aid groups that see
this as shifting against the “purpose of aid.”
“Foreign affairs is not in the
business of reducing poverty. We risk losing the expertise, focus,
effectiveness — and results — that CIDA staff brought
to this goal,” Oxfam
U.K. director of international programs Anthony
Scoggins said in response to the merger.
But the government seems determined to
“maximize” economic opportunities, arguing: “The mechanisms through which we
are advancing our development objectives are increasingly more multi-faceted
[…] As the linkages between our foreign policy, development, and trade objectives
continue to grow, the opportunity to leverage each of these grows at equal
pace.”
Some argue the move was
long overdue, while others see the decision as presenting an opportunity
for Canada to match the “global development and poverty reduction
agenda with our own economic interests,” though not without “serious
leadership.”
Canada insists “essential” programs
will continue: maternal and child health, education, public sector governance,
justice reform and agriculture. The government will continue to provide
humanitarian aid and advance poverty alleviation efforts.
“Core development assistance will
remain intact,” according to the budget plan.
In a short
statement aimed to reassure aid advocates, Fantino said: “The new
Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development will maintain the mandate
of poverty alleviation and humanitarian support. This decision will have no
impact on Canada’s international assistance budget.”
Still, the transition offers few
specifics and concerns abound among aid organizations.
“We are extremely concerned that this
new direction for CIDA means that development
assistance will be used to advance Canada’s prosperity and security, rather
than focusing solely on the needs and aspirations of the poor,” World Vision
Canada CEO Dave Toycen
said in a statement. “There are so many voices in the world today
speaking out for the needs of business and the powerful and we’re concerned
that those few voices that prioritize the poor risk being lost.”
Toycen was pleased, however, that the
focus on maternal and child health programs remains.
CARE
Canada President and CEO Kevin McCort
was more reserved: “Recent changes to CIDA will not
affect CARE Canada’s commitment to fighting poverty in
more than 30 developing countries worldwide […] CARE
Canada has maintained an excellent working relationship with CIDA
and we expect this to continue with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade
and Development.”
McCort underlines, however, the
importance for the government to “follow the principles outlined in the ODA [official development assistance] Accountability Act and
the International Humanitarian Code of Conduct, which emphasize that aid
priorities must be focused strictly on need alone above all other
considerations.”
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