McLeod Group Blog

McLeod Group blog by Stéphanie Bacher, October 2, 2019

On numerous occasions, both in Canada and abroad, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, expressed Canada’s concern over the rise of populism and authoritarianism around the world. For instance, in August 2018, she said: “The truth is that authoritarianism is on the march – and it is time for liberal democracy to fight back. To do that, we need to raise ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Julia Tops and David Manocchio, September 3, 2019

Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada took a progressive feminist approach to G7 global governance. However, while seeking to tackle gender-based inequalities, Canada failed to sufficiently address the environmental dimensions of inequality. This narrow focus limited the space available to promote inclusive growth and combat inequality, the theme of this year’s G7 Summit in Biarritz, France. If the goal of prosperous and equitable societies is to be achieved, ...

McLeod Group blog by Stephen Brown, August 29, 2019

Does the world need more Canadians? Global Affairs Canada recently announced a new initiative to send more Canadians abroad to help developing countries fight poverty. The new Technical Assistance Program, says the press release, “highlights Canada’s commitment to innovation and partnership with Canadian experts from various sectors”, as well as “the commitments in the Feminist International Assistance Policy to adopt more flexible ...

McLeod Group guest blog by John Cameron, August 12, 2019

Just and sustainable global development requires legal and policy change in Canada and globally, and civil society organizations (CSOs) can play important roles in advocating for that change. Canadian policies on international development and humanitarian assistance, climate change mitigation, international trade and investment agreements, and the monitoring and regulation of Canadian corporations that operate overseas or that source inputs through global supply chains all have significant impacts on the well-being of ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Ian Smillie, August 6, 2019

The Globe and Mail recently ran a story written by two employees at a Canadian government-funded organization called Convergence. Headlined “Blended finance offers global solutions,” it explained – or at least it tried to explain – how “strategic use of capital from public sources to mobilize private-sector funds can help developing countries.”

“Blended finance,” the article states, “is the strategic use ...

McLeod Group blog, June 13, 2019

Women Deliver, the world’s largest gathering on the health, rights, and well-being of women and girls, made headlines last week in Vancouver. Hosted by Canada, it was the setting for a major announcement by Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Minister of International Development, of a contribution of $300 million towards the newly launched Equality Fund. The donation is specifically targeted to build gender-lens ...

McLeod Group blog, June 3, 2019

The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) has released its preliminary report on member countries’ development assistance expenditures in 2018. It makes for interesting, if discouraging, reading. Overall, global official development assistance (ODA) decreased by 2.7% from 2017, with a smaller share going to the poorest countries.

When it comes to Canada’s performance, the report looks at both the quantity and quality of aid. Despite its claims ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Joan Kuyek, April 17, 2019

Although it took 15 months to identify and appoint lawyer Sheri Myerhoffer to the new post of Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, her powers remain undefined. Civil society organizations in Canada and the Global South fear that, for the umpteenth time in the last 20 years, they will be disappointed in their efforts to hold Canadian companies accountable for their often predatory ...

McLeod Group blog, April 8, 2019

The Canadian government recently announced that it would match every dollar Canadians contribute to the response to Cyclone Idai in Southern Africa. While the matching funds mechanism sounds like a generous move and one that would encourage individuals to donate more, it actually contradicts universally agreed humanitarian principles. In particular, it lets the allocation of Canada’s humanitarian assistance be skewed by media coverage and popular sentiments. Matching funds are in fact a terrible way to ...

McLeod Group guest blog by Liam Swiss, April 4, 2019

Whether blamed on Scott Brison’s retirement or the SNC-Lavalin affair, the revolving door of Trudeau Cabinet shuffles and resignations over the past months has heads spinning. A move that attracted little attention outside the development community was the departure of Marie-Claude Bibeau from the international development portfolio.

Bibeau’s appointment as Minister of International Development in Trudeau’s “Because it’s 2015” gender-balanced cabinet was a safe choice. Though a political novice, she has some ...