It was a time-honoured tradition at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Every time a new minister was appointed, officials within the Agency would wait several months for the new Minister to announce a new set of priorities for Canadian aid. With each new Minister trying to put their own stamp on the Canadian aid … Read more
As the Canadian International Development Agency symbolically faded into history today with the folding of its Internet presence and Twitter feed, Canada’s newly re-titled Minister for International Development continued this week in publicly defending the recent CIDA-DFAIT merger with zeal. One of Minister Fantino’s favourite talking points for explaining the upside of what is destined to … Read more
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) announced yesterday that several vacant seats on its near empty Board of Governors were filled. The appointment of four new members and the reappointment of a former Conservative cabinet minister bring the Board back to quorum for the time being and should enable the IDRC to resume any normal … Read more
This post originally appeared on the Ottawa Citizen Aid & Development Blog on 2013/05/30. Canada’s present government has not cultivated a strong reputation when it comes to evidence-based policy or support for science and research. This has manifested in the muzzling of government scientists, the cancellation of the 2011 mandatory long-form census and the defunding … Read more
Testimony yesterday at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development revealed that senior CIDA and DFAIT officials learned of their respective departments’ arranged marriage only on the day of the 2013 budget. Though the concept of a CIDA-DFAIT merger may not have come as a surprise to many in the Canadian development community, to learn … Read more