Bill C-293: better aid

The Hill Times Letters, September 18, 2006

One of the first things that Parliament will be discussing and voting on when it reconvenes this week is Private Member's Bill C-293, the Development Assistance Accountability Act.

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that money spent on foreign aid is actually put toward projects that will help reduce poverty.

Currently, money spent on a wide variety of items, including the war in Afghanistan, is labelled as "foreign aid" and added to the total amount that Canada boasts it spends fighting poverty.

Bill C-293 would set up a committee to review how foreign aid is spent, and would also allow for residents of developing countries to submit written feedback to the committee if they feel that the money is not being used appropriately.

I can think of no reason why a bill that will make foreign aid more effective and will allow for those receiving the aid to give feedback should not breeze through Parliament.

However, several prominent Conservatives have already suggested that they will not support this bill. Let's hope that common sense will prevail over at least half of the MPs in Ottawa.

Trevor Freeman
Belle River, Ont.
(The letter writer is a member of Engineers Without Borders.)