International aid agencies ask for more money in letter to Freeland ahead of budget
CTV
Dozens of Canada's international aid agencies are asking Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to increase the country's foreign assistance contributions.
Dozens of Canada's international aid agencies are asking Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to increase the country's foreign assistance contributions.
The request comes in a letter signed by 75 non-governmental organizations, including the Canadian chapters of groups such as Oxfam, Save the Children, Unicef and World Vision.
They're asking Freeland to increase international aid funding from the $8.15 billion pledged in the last budget and to gradually ramp that figure up to $10 billion by 2025.
"Our investments have acted as a bulwark against rising authoritarianism by supporting democracy, women's and children's rights, and development in countries where rights are under attack," reads a draft version of the letter provided to The Canadian Press. "... If Canada fails to maintain its commitment to year-on-year increases in international assistance in the federal budget this spring, all of this is under threat."
The 2023 budget is expected to be tabled sometime this spring, though a date has not yet been formally announced.
The Liberals have promised more money for international spending each year since taking office in 2015, but global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have changed the way that funding has been allocated.
"As we come out of the COVID pandemic, we see a world that faces multiple, compounding crises, whether it's conflict, climate, inflation, the rollback on democracy and human rights in several parts of the world," said Kate Higgins, chief executive officer of Cooperation Canada, which represents 96 Canadian non-profit organizations and was among the letter's signatories.
