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LOST IN THE MINEFIELD? CANADA AND THE OTTAWA TREATY

LOST IN THE MINEFIELD? CANADA AND THE OTTAWA TREATY

Guest Blog by Ted Paterson, October 3, 2016

Recent days have seen much ado concerning Canada’s renewed commitment to peacekeeping, but far less attention has been paid to our other diplomatic initiative that was worthy of a Nobel Prize, the Ottawa Treaty on landmines. This seems curious given the success of the Treaty and the accolades Canada received for its leadership twenty years ago.

Over 160 states have joined the Treaty, which has dramatically curtailed the use of anti-personnel landmines and virtually ...

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REFUGEES: FLEETING FEELINGS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

REFUGEES: FLEETING FEELINGS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

McLeod Group blog by Hunter McGill, Sept. 23, 2016

The week of September 19 occasioned the usual cluster of high-level meetings in New York, as the United Nations begins its autumn sessions. Of particular importance for the international community of humanitarian organizations were the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants and the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees, hosted by President Barack Obama and co-hosted by Canada, among other countries. Both events were marked by hand-wringing, reminders of how many ...

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FRIGHT NIGHT: CANADA’S NEW PEACEKEEPING AGENDA

FRIGHT NIGHT: CANADA’S NEW PEACEKEEPING AGENDA

A McLeod Group Blog by Ian Smillie, Sept. 9, 2016

Even before Prime Minister Trudeau announced Canada’s new peacekeeping agenda, the media were awash with excited, not to say hysterical warnings. After the announcement, it was as though he had declared World War III.

The basics in the announcement: first, $150 million a year to a Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs)—as far as one can see, very similar to the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (START) in place since ...

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CANADIAN AID PRIORITIES: WHY ETHIOPIA?

CANADIAN AID PRIORITIES: WHY ETHIOPIA?

Guest blog by Yohannes Berhe, July 29, 2016

One cannot help a nagging feeling of déjà vu, given the recent appeal for help to feed Ethiopia. For almost 30 years now, the government of Ethiopia has been the darling of donor countries as reflected in the unprecedented annual flow of billions of dollars in development assistance and debt forgiveness. The foreign policy statements of donor countries, Canada included, suggest that they are strongly committed to helping Ethiopia extricate itself from ...

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THE ODA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT: WHAT HAPPENED?

THE ODA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT: WHAT HAPPENED?

McLeod Group Blog by Ian Smillie, July 26, 2016

When Canada’s Official Development Assistance Accountability Act became law during the first minority government of Stephen Harper, there was hearty applause from the international development community. Introduced as a private member’s bill by Liberal MP John McKay, Bill C-293 won the support of all parties and received Royal Assent at the end of May 2008. According to Global Affairs Canada (GAC), ‘Its purpose is to ensure that all Canadian official ...

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HOW MUCH FOREIGN AID?

HOW MUCH FOREIGN AID?

McLeod Group Blog by Ian Smillie, July 22, 2016

Buried deep in the government’s discussion paper on its foreign aid review is a tiny comment about aid volumes. It is a warning that whatever you might want to tell the government about aid, don’t bother talking about numbers. The UN spending target of 0.7% of gross national income for rich countries is called ‘unrealistic… in the current fiscal context.’

This is almost verbatim what every Canadian government has said about the ...

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WOMEN’S HEALTH: KNOWLEDGE, EVIDENCE AND COMMITMENT PLEASE

WOMEN’S HEALTH: KNOWLEDGE, EVIDENCE AND COMMITMENT PLEASE

McLeod Group Guest Blog by Alison Y. Riddle, July 12, 2016

The lack of public consultation and evidence-based policy-making that characterized the Conservative government resulted in a dilution of Canada’s historically strong reputation as a global human rights champion, especially when it came to the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights on the international stage. The recent independent evaluation of Canada’s Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) Initiative that Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched at the 2010 G8 ...

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CANADA AND FRAGILE STATES

CANADA AND FRAGILE STATES

A McLeod Group Blog by Carolyn McAskie, July 8, 2016

In its review of International Assistance, currently underway, Global Affairs Canada asks what role Canada should play in addressing ‘fragile states.’

Fragile states are among the poorest countries—often either conflict-ridden or emerging from conflict. They are unable or unwilling to provide the core functions of a state (governance, safety and security, management of resources) or to deliver basic services to their citizens (health, education, agricultural inputs, economic security). The concept captures both poverty ...

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HUMANITARIAN DILEMMAS

HUMANITARIAN DILEMMAS

McLeod Group Blog by Hunter McGill, July 5, 2016

The government’s current consultation process on international assistance includes several questions about humanitarian (emergency) assistance. There is no denying that there is a pressing need for humanitarian aid in many parts of the world, with estimates of populations at risk and in need of help running as high as 125 million. The total budget for humanitarian assistance in 2015 reached US$25 billion. So it is no surprise that over 9000 ...

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