Posts Tagged 'NGOs'

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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GETTING YOUR GOAT

GETTING YOUR GOAT

McLeod Group Blog, December 2, 2016

It’s the time of year when our media overflow with requests for funding – with the implication that buying a goat or sponsoring a child will ‘save’ a family.  The fact that these fundraising efforts are so ubiquitous and so successful shows that Canadians badly want to do something about global poverty and to contribute to sustainable development. But these appeals, based on the engaging image of a goat (or chickens, or bed nets, or ...

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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about Canadian charities tax law and ‘political activities’ has become hopelessly confused in obtuse and badly outdated definitions and interpretations of the words ‘charity’, ‘political’, ‘purpose’ and ‘activity’.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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CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW: OPPORTUNITIES AND RED HERRINGS

CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW: OPPORTUNITIES AND RED HERRINGS

McLeod Group Blog, May 20, 2016

In his Globe and Mail column on May 12, Jeffrey Simpson took note of seven major policy consultations currently under way: Canada Post, defence, communications and culture, innovation, productivity, missing and murdered aboriginal women, Via Rail upgrades and the legalization of marijuana, all expected to report back in 2017. The very next day, Friday the 13th, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) kicked off another one: an International Assistance Review.

“See a pattern here?” Simpson asked. “Consultation. ...

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Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!

Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!

Ding dong, the merry-oh!

Too mean-spirited? Ask Zunera Ishaq, the former English literature teacher and mother of four whose name (but not her face) was dragged through the courts and the media in the Harper government’s mean-spirited attempt to score anti-Muslim points as it limped into the home stretch earlier this month.

Ask Canada’s Aboriginal people, struggling with the issue of murdered and missing women, poor housing and water, bad health care and inadequate education.

Ask demoralized civil servants and Canadian diplomats who ...

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The Rise and Rise of Poverty Porn

The Rise and Rise of Poverty Porn

McLeod Group Blog, Feb. 16, 2015

‘It used to be that the best way to raise money for the developing world was to show the abject poverty that could be found there, but NGOs are finding that tactic no longer works.’ So says Nathaniel Whittemore in a thoughtful article—‘The Rise and Fall of Poverty Porn’—which talks about focusing on solutions rather than symptoms.

Is he right? Has the ‘pornography of poverty’ declined? Is it true that it doesn’t work? If you ...

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Another One Bites the Dust

Another One Bites the Dust

McLeod Group Blog, Oct. 15, 2014

Earlier this month, the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) announced that it was closing its doors. Like the North-South Institute and dozens of now-defunct Canadian organizations that depended on the federal government for basic core support, the CLLN was a victim of the Harper government’s slash-and-burn approach to anything it doesn’t like.

The CLLN’s board cited “a shift in federal funding priorities.” A more pointed reason for the cut to the CLLN and many other ...

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Mr. Harper’s Maternal and Child Health Summit, Part 3: Delusions about International Leadership

McLeod Group Blog, May 27, 2014

Once again Canada’s development cooperation policies are being driven by domestic interests, not the development outcomes and the results the government claims to be seeking. We are going it alone and indeed this time even pretending that everybody else is following our lead. In truth, maternal and child health has been both a global and Canadian priority for decades, with an accelerated focus on reproductive health and rights following the 1994 UN Population conference in ...

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Paradis Shocker: NGOs Stunned

Paradis Shocker: NGOs Stunned

McLeod Group Blog, May 21, 2014

Christian Paradis, Canada’s Minister for International Development, surprised a great many people—stunned might be a better word–when he said this in an April press release:

“Canada recognizes and supports the vital role that civil society plays in reaching development objectives. Civil society engages citizens in their countries’ decision-making processes that affect them. Empowered by the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, association and assembly, civil society enables citizens to hold their governments to account, providing ...

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