QUESTION PERIOD — International Development
Budget for Development Assistance
March 29, 2022
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, lately, a lot of attention has been given to the NATO countries’ commitment to allocate 2% of their GDP to defence spending. However, no one seems to be talking about our humanitarian commitment to the UN to allocate 0.7% of our gross national income to official development assistance.
In 1968, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development proposed that donor countries set an objective to contribute 1% of gross national income for the humanitarian component and 2% of GDP for the defence component.
In 2020, Canada reached 46% of its development assistance objective and 71% of its defence objective.
Given that far too many civilians continue to be, by far, the first casualties in armed conflicts, should Canada not increase its assistance or even seek to achieve parity between its humanitarian and defence spending?
If not, could the government at least fulfill its existing development assistance commitments?
Thank you for your question. The government is committed to make our assistance more effective to yield the best results possible for the poorest and most vulnerable, all while mobilizing additional funding for sustainable development.
Esteemed colleagues, Canada is the eighth-largest donor in the world, and the government is committed to investing more in international development.
In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced over $1 billion in additional and renewed funding for international assistance, including $375 million to address COVID-19.
Since 2020, Canada has allocated more than $2.7 billion to international assistance, including nearly $1 billion in new resources. Canada’s ratio of official development assistance to gross national income increased by 8%, reaching its highest level in nearly a decade.
