OTTAWA-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signals a shift from humanitarian aid to funding infrastructure projects in developing countries.
“A lot of it is less about humanitarian development, in my conversations with countries in the Global South, and a lot more about, well, how can you create renewable energy investments that will last for the next 20 years?” Trudeau said last week in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.
“How are you going to build resilient infrastructure that won’t be wiped out by the next hurricane, landslide, or heavy rain, or whatever?” Trudeau continued.
“These conversations are evolving, but we will continue to be very present in investments in the countries of the South.”
Canada’s aid sector is watching next spring’s budget closely, to see how the Liberals interpret their own commitment to continue to increase humanitarian spending every year.
The Liberals have kept that promise since taking office in 2015, and Trudeau asked International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan a year ago to “increase Canada’s international development assistance every year.”
The Liberals had planned $6.6 billion in annual aid before the COVID-19 pandemic. They have taken that goal beyond $8 billion, initially for programs related to combating the effects of COVID-19, then to help Ukraine and its neighbors.
While Ottawa warns of a possible recession, the sector is unsure if the Liberals intend to use pre-pandemic spending as a benchmark.
There is hope that they will complement the more generous baseline instead.
“The feminist policy that the Trudeau government has put in place is having a big impact, but we have to continue,” said Louis Bélanger, a former Liberal staffer who now champions Canadian humanitarian groups through the group Bigger Than Our Borders. , which is supported by major charities.
“We have an extremely strong policy in place that is being very well received in the developing world and with civil society here in Canada,” Bélanger said. “It has (made) a huge difference in terms of women’s rights, in terms of women’s health, in terms of girls’ education.”
Aid groups and development banks are particularly concerned that Western countries are diverting their traditional grants to help Ukraine deal with the impact of the Russian invasion in February.
Belanger said assistance from Canada and its partners has helped countries nearly meet the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and Belanger said those nearly filled gaps now risk cratering.
“We have to keep going and not go back. So it’s worrying to hear that there might be a tendency to go backwards instead of forwards,” Belanger said.
Yet Trudeau said leaders in developing countries ask him less about humanitarian aid and more about investing in projects that will last for decades, like renewable energy and bridges or roads that can withstand hurricanes. or landslides.
He said the West heard a wake-up call after Russia invaded Ukraine, when countries like Canada called on developing countries to isolate Russia. Trudeau summed up the response as follows: “They are the only ones showing up to invest in our infrastructure.”
In June, G7 countries pledged to invest US$600 billion in the Global South, with a focus on climate-resilient infrastructure, health systems and digital economies. This commitment was widely seen as a counterweight to programs such as China’s Belt and Road initiative, which has seen Beijing become a major player in Africa.
This paved the way for Canada’s announcement in November of $750 million for a state-owned company to leverage the private sector to fund infrastructure projects in Asia over three years, starting next March. .
The funding is part of the Indo-Pacific strategy and will be administered by FinDev Canada, which previously only had a mandate to fund private sector projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
“I think there was a collective understanding, something that Canada has known for a long time, that we’re all connected, north and south,” Trudeau said.
Roland Paris, a former Trudeau foreign policy adviser who now heads the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of International Affairs, said China’s popularity has barely waned in southern countries in recent years. , compared to a sharp decline in the West.
“It’s kind of a realization that the Chinese development model, abhorrent as it is, has been popular with its recipients,” he said.
Canada’s shift recalls the roots of foreign development, in which multinational agencies such as the World Bank funded projects like hydroelectric dams, but this time with private sector funds.
Paris added that infrastructure projects are likely to benefit lower-middle-income countries, rather than the world’s poorest nations.
Trudeau also noted that developing countries have been in the spotlight at many summits, such as the meeting of the Organization of American States in October, to the Commonwealth meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, last June.
“Our focus on the Global South was more robust and more real than ever before,” Trudeau said.
In a separate interview, Sajjan said humanitarian funding already helps pay for things like solar power in rural areas of Jordan.
“If you want to prevent climate change shocks, we need to do things differently in the global South,” he said.
“The Prime Minister is focused on making sure that we look at long-term capacity building, within these nations.”
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, his party’s international development critic, said he’s open to Ottawa using its aid dollars in any way that improves livelihoods at home. ‘foreigner.
“It should be about results, and the results achieved by this government leave a lot to be desired,” he said.
Genuis noted that the government has said it could take a year to respond to a House of Commons committee’s request to change anti-terrorism laws that bar humanitarians from working in Afghanistan. He said government programs have favored multilateral organizations too much over Canadian-based aid groups, which he says are more effective at raising funds and spending them wisely.
In any case, Genuis said it would be better to focus more on FinDev Canada than to let Ottawa continue to contribute to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is controlled by China.
“Our engagement around infrastructure in the developing world should not serve the strategic interests of the Chinese government; it should be done through bilateral partnerships with countries that help strengthen Canada’s presence and relationships with those countries,” he said.
“We are in this new world of intense competition between the free world and the revisionist powers. This context underscores the critical importance of engagement with the developing world.”
Heather McPherson, NDP Critic for International Development, said any redirection of foreign aid towards funding private sector infrastructure projects is likely to benefit Canadian businesses more than people facing the brunt of the crises. humanitarians.
“It’s a huge, huge missed opportunity and a terrible mistake,” she said.
“The climate crisis, inflation, inequality — all of these things are huge challenges that will require an international or global response. And we Canadians are increasingly forgetting the role our government should play.
McPherson added that it is crucial for Canada to support Ukraine, but this should not come at the expense of helping developing countries fight poverty and build resilience in the face of climate chaos.
“It’s the worst situation to rob Peter to pay Paul and it will come back to haunt us many times over.”
Belanger said the world will likely watch how Trudeau proceeds. He currently co-chairs the UN Advocates Group for the Sustainable Development Goals, along with Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.
“We have made investments in human rights that are no less important than an investment in infrastructure,” Belanger said.
He argued that girls in developing countries need to have schools they can go to.
“It’s good to have good roads for the school bus, but not if the school bus is empty.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 22, 2022.
“Internet evangelist. Extreme communicator. Subtly charming alcohol aficionado. Typical tv geek.”