International development groups say budget cut will end Canadian programs abroad

OTTAWA — Humanitarian groups are giving Tuesday’s federal budget a thumbs down, saying it will create a backslide in progress on fighting disease and hunger abroad.

The Liberal budget projects that it will spend nearly $6.9 billion for international development in the coming fiscal year, a 16 per cent drop from last year’s allocation.

Yet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tasked International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan to increase aid spending every year.

The Liberals had budgeted for $6.6 billion in foreign aid for the 2019-2020 financial year before the pandemic began, and the government’s response to COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the amount to more than $8 billion by last year.

Ahead of Tuesday’s budget, officials warned the sector that Ottawa saw that bump as responding to exceptional circumstances, and that the Liberals might instead commit to building on the 2019 allocation instead of last year’s.

Cooperation Canada CEO Kate Higgins, whose group represents more than 95 non-profits, says this approach will cause Canadian organizations to end multi-year programming as the world struggles with inflation.

“It undermines progress on development and Canada’s contribution to progress on development around the world,” she said.

“It undermines our security as a country and the contribution we are making to combat compounding global crises, whether that’s climate change or the rollback on human rights and democracy.”

Higgins said the budget also does not make clear how much funding is going to Ukraine, which she acknowledges sorely needs the help, versus how much is supporting other crises elsewhere.

“There are crises in other parts of the world, whether it is the Horn of Africa or across the Middle East, that we need to keep an eye on, and that we should be responding to,” she said.

“Our concern has been: how do we ensure that we’re able to respond boldly to Ukraine, but not forgetting crises around the world?”

Groups also say they want the Liberals to confirm funding in future years, so they can better plan projects abroad.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2023.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press