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Editorial: Red tape, secrecy and foreign aid
Canada’s social fabric is stitched by the haves helping the have-nots.
We are a country of givers and are proud of it.
And giving for us is by and large unconditional.
What we ask in return is that the money we give is used in a transparent, non-partisan and accountable manner.
But that maybe too much to ask, say the people who administer your tax dollars.
Canada’s foreign aid program totaling about $4 billion annually is generous but not necessarily effective.
Red tape, secrecy and aid tied to the utilization of Canadian goods and services have all contributed to serious flaws in the way your money is being channeled to help the worlds most needy.
"Nearly half of all Canadian foreign aid sent to developing countries does not benefit those who need it most," says Engineers Without Borders (EWB).
"We talk to thousands of Canadians who tell us that they care about development in Africa. Yet most don't know that Canadian aid often ends up right back in the pockets of Canadian corporations, rather than where it is needed most,” said Kimberly Bowman, EWB's Director of Outreach and Advocacy.
Our tied-aid tinges Canadian charity because in essence they are loans to create new markets for Canadian companies.
More than a third of the money we give for global development is guided by self-interest
that ultimately ends up boosting the bottom line of large Canadian corporations.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which administers our aid to developing nations has responded to recent criticisms by coming up with a remedy called ‘strengthening aid effectiveness’.
When you dissect this initiative two things stand out.
The first is that there will be a massive increase in bureaucrats and meetings to channel Canadian overseas development aid.
Second, this aid will hide behind a veil of secrecy.
“We are told that this sitting around the table with other players is the most effective way of projecting Canada’s presence in the world,” said John Watson, president of the humanitarian organization CARE Canada in a recent speech in Montreal.
So why is CIDA so intent on spending your money on meetings and increasing red tape?
To understand this, you have to be aware of what CIDA is most afraid of in terms of potential sources of criticism, says Watson, who has spent almost 40 years in humanitarian and development work.
“It is not its partners (whom it funds) nor the various umbrella or policy groups (whom it also funds) nor Senate Committees nor ‘meddlesome’ politicians (who come and go).
It is the Auditor General.
With every Auditor General’s report on aid, CIDA has put in place new mechanisms and procedures to ensure that deficiencies noted never occur again.
As a result of this, over the years new red tape has been added to the old and the whole system has begun to grind to a halt, says Watson.
The new initiative to strengthen aid effectiveness also allows CIDA to hide its problems.
By steering Canadian money via a variety of donor agencies the World Bank and the United Nations, CIDA’s accountability goes into an opaque zone.
These third party funnels are not required to release the information to the Canadian public and are out of the Auditor General’s reach.
The World Bank and the United Nations have an abysmal record for releasing information, despite having very good transparency rules on paper, say experts.
But Canada could demand greater transparency from those agencies because there is nothing blocking Ottawa from demanding the audits and releasing them to the public.
If we want to continue to be one of the leaders in making this world a better place to live, our government needs to focus on how we give and not how much we give.
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