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
In January, Canada’s Minister for International Cooperation, Julian Fantino, made waves in the press by suggesting that there was a de facto freeze on new aid to Haiti. He then proceeded to justify this freeze by suggesting that Canadians had a ‘right’ to demand better development results out of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. As … Read more