‘The stronger our economy, the more we can do around the world,’ Sajjan says in his first public comments since last month’s budget
International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says his government might boost foreign aid spending if the Canadian economy rebounds after criticism over a drop in development funding that has the sector preparing to cut programs.
The aid sector has pushed the government to instead build on the more than $8 billion they allocated for aid spending last year, as a result of two years of extra funding to respond to COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“Rightfully so, we needed to focus on our economy. We wanted to send a very strong message on the importance of the investment that we’re making for our economy,” Sajjan said.
He noted that the amount set out in budgets is often topped up as the government pledges funding through the year to respond to humanitarian disasters. “It goes against the very ambitious and bold leadership rhetoric that we’ve heard from the government,” said Martin Fischer, World Vision Canada’s policy director.His charity is particularly concerned about the Charlevoix education initiative that Canada pioneered in 2018, which allocated funding from Canada and its allies to ensure the most vulnerable girls in conflict settings can still go to school.
“We all collectively have a hard time understanding how a sector that is providing the government with opportunities to show up internationally, to employ a whole bunch of Canadians and be part of its global role is given no certainty through the regular budget cycle.”
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