Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks about a shift from humanitarian aid to funding infrastructure projects in developing countries.
“A lot of it is less about humanitarian development, in my conversations with countries in the Global South, and a lot more about ‘how can you create investments in renewable energy that will last for the next 20 years?’” Ms. Trudeau in a year-end interview last week with The Canadian Press.
“How are you going to build resilient infrastructure that won’t be wiped out by the next hurricane, landslide, or heavy rain, or whatever?”
“These discussions are evolving, but we will continue to be very present in investments in the countries of the South. »
Canada’s aid sector is watching the federal budget closely next spring, to see how the Liberals interpret their own commitment to continue to increase humanitarian spending each year.
The Liberals have kept that promise since taking office in 2015, and their leader asked International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan a year ago to “increase Canada’s international development assistance every year.”
The Liberals had planned $6.6 billion in annual aid before the COVID-19 pandemic. They have taken that goal beyond $8 billion, largely for programs related to combating the effects of COVID-19, and then this year also to help Ukraine and its neighbors.
“A big impact”
While Ottawa warns of a possible recession, the international cooperation sector is unsure whether the Liberals intend to use pre-pandemic spending as a benchmark.
There is a hope that they will rather improve the investments.
“The feminist policy that the Trudeau government has put in place is having a big impact, but we have to continue,” argued Louis Bélanger, a former Liberal staffer who now champions Canadian humanitarian groups through the group Beyond. our borders, supported by major charities.
“We have an extremely strong policy in place that is very well received in the developing world and with civil society here in Canada,” said Mr. Bélanger.
“It has (made) a huge difference, in terms of women’s rights, in terms of women’s health, in terms of girls’ education. »
Aid groups around the world and development banks are particularly concerned that Western countries are diverting their traditional grants to help Ukraine deal with the impact of the Russian invasion in February.
According to Mr. Bélanger, assistance from Canada and its partners has helped countries come close to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
“We have to keep going and not go back. It is therefore worrying to hear that there might be a tendency to go backwards instead of forwards,” he said.
Yet Justin Trudeau said leaders in developing countries ask him less about humanitarian aid and more about investing in projects that will last for decades, like renewable energy and bridges or roads that can withstand storms. hurricanes or landslides.
He said the West heard a wake-up call after Russia invaded Ukraine, when countries like Canada called on developing nations to isolate Russia. The Prime Minister summed up the response as follows: “they are the only ones who come forward to invest in our infrastructure. »
In June, G7 countries pledged to invest US$600 billion in the Global South, with a focus on climate-resilient infrastructure, health systems and digital economies. This commitment was widely seen as a counterweight to programs such as China’s Silk Road Initiative, which has seen Beijing become a major player in Africa.
This paved the way for Canada’s announcement in November of $750 million for a state-owned company to leverage the private sector to fund infrastructure projects in Asia over three years, starting next March. .
The funding is part of the Indo-Pacific strategy and will be administered by FinDev Canada, which previously only had a mandate to fund private sector projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mr. Trudeau noted that developing countries have been in the spotlight at many summits, such as the meeting of the Organization of American States in October, and at the Commonwealth meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, last June. .
“Our focus on the southern hemisphere was stronger and more real than ever before,” Trudeau said.
In a separate interview, Minister Sajjan said humanitarian funding is already helping fund projects like solar power in rural areas of Jordan.
Opposition reactions
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, his party’s international development critic, said he’s open to Ottawa using its aid dollars in any way that improves livelihoods at home. ‘foreigner.
“It should be about results, and the results achieved by this government leave a lot to be desired,” he said.
Genuis noted that the government has said it could take a year to respond to a House of Commons committee’s request to change anti-terrorism laws that ban aid workers from working in Afghanistan.
According to the curator, government programs have favored multilateral organizations too much over Canadian-based aid groups, which he says are more effective at raising funds and spending them wisely.
In any case, Genuis believes it would be better to focus more on FinDev Canada than to let Ottawa continue to contribute to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is controlled by China.
“Our engagement around infrastructure in the developing world should not serve the strategic interests of the Chinese government; it should be done through bilateral partnerships with countries that help strengthen Canada’s presence and relationships with those countries,” he said.
Heather McPherson, NDP Critic for International Development, says any redirection of foreign aid toward funding private sector infrastructure projects is likely to benefit Canadian businesses more than people facing the brunt of humanitarian crises.
“The climate crisis, inflation, inequality — all of these things are huge challenges that will require an international or global response. And we Canadians are increasingly forgetting the role that our government should play,” she said.
Ms. McPherson added that it is crucial for Canada to support Ukraine, but this should not come at the expense of helping developing countries fight poverty and build resilience to the climate crisis.