Jun 4 2010 @ 11:19

EWB's ACT campaign takes action to improve Canadian foreign aid

Yesterday, EWBers brought all political parties together in Ottawa to support a comprehensive agenda that will increase accountability, creativity and transparency in Canada’s foreign aid spending.

In a press conference yesterday, co-CEO George Roter was joined by Members of Parliament Dean Allison (Conservative), Glen Pearson (Liberal), Wayne Marston (NDP) and Johanne Deschamps (Bloc) in a show of multi-party support to improve Canada’s foreign aid programs.

“What makes this initiative unique is that we have politicians from all parties working together to present a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of Canadian foreign aid,” says George Roter.

Yesterday’s recommendations included establishing an arm’s length agency to evaluate effectiveness of Canadian aid projects, creating a $150 million innovation fund to support expansion of successful projects, and publishing Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) project data to make successes and failure public.

“This new initiative from EWB will help create a more efficient, coherent approach to aid and development. And with the G8/G20 just around the corner, it provides another opportunity for Canada to lead on the international stage,” notes George.

In parallel with the press conference, EWBers met with over 40 MPs on Parliament Hill to encourage multi-party action in implementing these reforms.

“We have combined our on-the-ground perspective and our experience working with CIDA to develop a package of recommendations that will help make Canada a leader on international development,” says James Haga, EWB’s Director of Advocacy.

As part of this initiative, EWB will also be engaging over 60,000 Canadians to educate and build awareness throughout the country about the importance of these issues in the lead up to the G8 leaders meeting in Ontario.

“The fact that all parties are supporting it demonstrates the significant importance of these issues, and the urgent need for change,” concludes James.

Twitter Share