Development minister to consult Canadians on foreign aid policies

OTTAWA – International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is asking Canadians to help review the country’s international aid policies and programs.

Bibeau says the consultations between now and July will help frame programs to better respond to world needs and ensure that aid is focused on the poorest and most vulnerable people and supports fragile states.

She says empowering women and girls and protecting and promoting their rights through advancing gender equality will be at the heart of Canada’s international assistance.

She’s making the consultation announcement at the Women Deliver conference in Denmark, where she is championing the health and rights of women and girls.

The consultations will also focus on clean economic growth and climate change, governance, pluralism, diversity and human rights and peace and security.

Bibeau says Canadians can contribute their views online, by email or by mail to the Department of Global Affairs.

“We are consulting with Canadians and partners to ensure that our actions help empower the most vulnerable and contribute to finding lasting solutions to the world’s most pressing development challenges,” she said in a statement.

“Canada has a long tradition of engaging internationally. We are a global people committed to a shared humanity.”

Among other things, Global Affairs says the review and consultations will look at priorities for aid, consider whether some aid should be scaled back or phased out and ask which partners the country should work with.