Prime Minister Harper answers EWB's question!

17 March, 2010 @ 17:00

Prime Minister Harper hosted a virtual town hall meeting yesterday on YouTube - and EWB was present in full force asking the Prime Minister about Canada’s commitment to African aid.

Using Google’s latest innovation Google Moderator, Mr. Harper encouraged the public to post questions, and then vote on which ones he should address during the online meeting yesterday afternoon. There were over 2,000 questions proposed, on which an astounding 170,000 Canadians voted.

Stephanie Power from EWB’s Memorial University chapter took advantage of this opportunity to engage with the Prime Minister. She posted a video question regarding Canada’s international aid spending beyond 2010 - out of thousands of submissions, Stephanie’s question was chosen.

Watch EWB's question to the Prime Minister now: youtube.com/TalkCanada

EWB's question - which appears about 5 minutes into the town hall meeting - could not have come at a more relevant time. The Canadian government has recently announced that it will freeze international aid spending past this year - undoubtedly this leaving unanswered questions about our government’s commitment to the future of developing African nations going forward.

“Over the next year, foreign aid will increase again and Canada will go up another eight per cent, very rapid growth. After that it will be flat lined,” Prime Minister Harper said in response to Stephanie’s query.

Especially as Canada is are about to hold a G8/G20 summit this summer, there is a need for improved leadership and innovation in Canada’s relationship with developing countries. We need to be stepping up – not flat lining.

And Stephanie’s question was an important start to bringing this issue to the forefront for Canadians.

“I was watching CBC's The National tonight, and they aired Stephanie's question and a portion of Harper's response. So every Canadian who watched The National this evening, even for a short moment, thought about Canada's aid commitment.” says EWB’s Director of Advocacy, James Haga

Check out EWB's question now: youtube.com/TalkCanada

EWB remains committed to calling on the Canadian government to improve its contribution to international aid in Africa, and our members – like Stephanie Power – are certainly helping to make this a reality.