To the editor:
In 1969, then Conservative Prime Minster Lester Pearson proposed to the world’s donor nations that we donate 0.7 per cent of our gross national income to overseas development assistance.
In 1970, the United Nations ratified it and several nations in the world do more than that – some are up to a full per cent.
Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
The rest of the world is serious about eliminating extreme poverty, and this year, as the Millennium Development Goals expire, they are working on the Sustainable Development Goals, with the target of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030.
Meanwhile, back in Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has dragged us down to a humiliating 0.24 per cent, woefully behind other, less wealthy nations.
Canadians need a more responsible government. We do not need a short-sighted, morally bankrupt miser who is destroying Canada’s hard-earned reputation as a strong and responsible global citizen.
Leo Young
Vernon
