Posts Tagged 'civil society'

CIVIL SOCIETY’S ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CIVIL SOCIETY’S ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Le français suit.

Blog by Stéphanie Bacher, December 7, 2016

Civil society is under attack. That is the main conclusion from the most recent report published by the international alliance CIVICUS on the state of civil society in the world. In many countries, whether authoritarian or democratic, a series of obstacles threaten civil society and hinder its ability to promote international development and basic human rights. In Canada, for example, the budgets of several international development organizations were drastically reduced in ...

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BRASS TAX, BRASS KNUCKLES: CRA and the Political Activity of Canadian Charities

BRASS TAX, BRASS KNUCKLES: CRA and the Political Activity of Canadian Charities

McLeod Group Blog by Ian Smillie, November 7, 2016

The discussion about Canadian charities tax law and ‘political activities’ has become hopelessly confused in obtuse and badly outdated definitions and interpretations of the words ‘charity’, ‘political’, ‘purpose’ and ‘activity’. It has become especially confused where international development organizations are concerned, because the underlying preconditions for change in developing countries often lie within the realms of rights—basic human rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, prisoners’ rights—and in issues of good governance, ...

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The One We Would Write: A Mandate Letter for Canada’s Next Development Minister

The One We Would Write: A Mandate Letter for Canada’s Next Development Minister

McLeod Group Blog, June 16, 2015

You will serve as Minister of International Development Cooperation, with full cabinet membership, reporting directly to me as Prime Minister. As Minister you will:

Policy

  •  Rebuild Canada’s capacity to be a strong global development actor after a decade of institutional neglect and distorted priorities.
  • Develop programs within a broad made-in-Canada framework that does not rely on norms and precedents of G7 and OECD member states. Engaging the South is critical to Canada’s future well-being, its economic, political and ...
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Inconvenient Charities

McLeod Group Blog, January 26, 2015

What do birdwatchers in the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists Club and human rights activists in Amnesty International have in common? Well, they are Canadian charities and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) seems to have all of them in their sights for their political activities.

Shortly after the bird watchers wrote a letter to two federal cabinet ministers complaining about government-approved chemicals that damage bee colonies, they received a letter from CRA objecting to political material on the ...

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Slip Sliding Away Democracy and the Silencing of Civil Society Organizations

McLeod Group Blog, April 12, 2014

It may come as a surprise to many Canadians who follow global civil society issues to learn that Canada chairs the Community of Democracies’ Working Group on Enabling and Protecting Civil Society, a group that believes,

An active, pluralistic civil society is an essential ingredient of a vibrant democratic political system. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are the primary vehicles through which people organize themselves to promote shared objectives and values and to convey their interests. ...

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Better Data on Foreign Aid: Not the Same as Better Transparency

Better Data on Foreign Aid: Not the Same as Better Transparency

Guest Blog by Brian Tomlinson

May 7, 2014

 The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), launched in 2008 in Accra, aimed to make information about foreign aid spending easier to access, understand and use. It was and remains a noble ambition, well worth pursing for several reasons. First and foremost, access to information on the use of public resources for development cooperation is a citizen’s right. Understanding of the trends and policies affecting allocations of public resources for aid, including resources raised from ...

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Slip Sliding Away: Democracy and the Silencing of Civil Society Organizations

McLeod Group Blog, April 9, 2014

It may come as a surprise to many Canadians who follow global civil society issues to learn that Canada chairs the Community of Democracies’ Working Group on Enabling and Protecting Civil Society, a group that believes,

“An active, pluralistic civil society is an essential ingredient of a vibrant democratic political system. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are the primary vehicles through which people organize themselves to promote shared objectives and values and to convey their interests. ...

Continue Reading →