Canadians can point with pride to our great success with foreign aid in saving millions of lives through disease prevention programs.
But this year we learned that the federal government plans to roll the Canadian International Development Agency into the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, just as CIDA is promoting development of foreign resources by Canadian mining companies.
I worry CIDA will lose its way. Will we throw away immunization programs to bolster corporate returns? Will maternal and child aid be reduced in the name of CEO bonuses? Are these changes intended to help the world’s poor, or Canadian shareholders?
It is imperative that Ministers Baird and Fantino maintain CIDA’s core mandate of poverty reduction and assistance to the world’s poorest.
Nathaniel Poole
Victoria
