(Ottawa) What is Justin Trudeau going to do at the Global Citizen NOW summit in New York, barely three weeks after cutting 15% in international aid from the federal budget? A coalition of NGOs is asking the question, seeing it as an inconsistency. The Conservatives and the New Democrats also opposed it, for different reasons.
The Prime Minister takes off this Wednesday afternoon for New York, where he will be one of the guests of this summit which gets under way on Thursday. The event aims to “set a global agenda for action on the most pressing issues facing humanity and the planet,” according to Global Citizen.
He is on the program for the first day of activities, when he will take part in a discussion on gender equality moderated by journalist Lisa LaFlamme in the company of Jacqueline O’Neill, Canada’s Ambassador for Women, peace and security.
“We wonder a bit what he will do in New York when we made a clear decision: that we were returning to our 2019 levels and that we were cutting international aid by 1.3 billion per year. says Louis Bélanger, director of the NGO group Beyond Our Borders.
“I talk to NGOs on the ground who feel it. The impact is real; Canadian NGOs are wondering if they are going to fire people who are on the ground. It will have an impact on the education of young girls, on migrants, on our actions in relation to climate change, ”he laments.
And so, “what we want is not necessarily a prime minister who goes to New York with actors, influencers and musicians”, but rather “a prime minister who has a real vision, a real plan game for foreign affairs,” argues Louis Bélanger, a former Liberal employee.
In her budget tabled on April 4, the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, allocated nearly $6.9 billion in international development assistance over the next fiscal year, which represents a decrease of 16% compared to the previous year. last year.
Better than the empty chair, says Oxfam-Québec
In the government press release announcing Justin Trudeau’s attendance at the summit, it is noted that he “will advocate for women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and related rights, as well as empowerment women around the world”.
The director general of Oxfam-Québec, Béatrice Vaugrante, is not “shocked” by her presence at the summit.
“I am from the school that the more we talk on all possible platforms about the importance of international commitment to defend the rights of women who are widely attacked all over the planet to audiences who are different, me, I say go,” she explains.
The speeches must however be followed by concrete actions, she insists: “We had a reduction in the budget, and we really now expect commitments”, especially in the light of “all the attacks that are being made on the planet, among other things, on women’s rights”.
French President Emmanuel Macron is also among the guests of the event, which will also bring together personalities such as singer John Legend and actress Katie Holmes. Summit co-chairs actor Hugh Jackman and Coldplay singer Chris Martin are also expected to attend.
Poilievre song review
Prime Minister Trudeau’s plane left Ottawa in the late afternoon.
Shortly before the scheduled take-off time, during question period in the House, the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also criticized this trip, splitting the song new York, new York by calling Justin Trudeau to ask him if he was going to pay for his accommodation in the Big Apple.
It is forbidden to push the note during the sessions, scolded the President of the Chamber.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also spoke out against the Prime Minister’s decision to go to New York, but for another reason: the strike by 155,000 federal public servants, which is paralyzing service delivery for Canadians.
He thus asked him to make a cross on the Global Citizen NOW summit, a request to which his interlocutor did not accede.