SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Feminist International Assistance Policy

Honourable senators, I rise today on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

I’m pleased to have this opportunity to shine a light on Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, or FIAP. This policy applies a human-rights-based, intersectional and transformative approach to Canada’s development assistance, focusing on tackling systemic barriers to equality.

Why is this focus on gender equality so essential? Because investing in women and girls delivers some of the highest returns on development investments. We know that when women thrive, communities prosper, economies grow and societies become more peaceful and resilient. The evidence is clear: When women are a part of peace processes, agreements are far more likely to last. When girls stay in school, their future earnings rise 10% to 20%, and their families rise with them. When women farmers have equal access to land, supplies and finance, chronic hunger drops by double digits. Equality is not an accessory to development; it is the condition that makes development possible.

Through partnerships with international NGOs like CARE Canada, we have seen how Canada’s FIAP’s targeted support for women and girls can transform lives and benefit their families and communities. By centring gender equality within their humanitarian programming, for example, CARE was able to get critical services and support to those most marginalized and in need, gaining access as a direct result of women’s leadership.

These outcomes abroad also benefit Canadians at home. Effective assistance creates more stable partners, healthier markets and fewer crises that spill across borders. It creates the foundations to diversify and improve our trade partnerships.

We have heard this government’s foreign policy priorities laid out last month at the UN General Assembly and we commend Minister Anand’s commitment to not shrinking and not retreating from duty on the international stage. And yet, rolling back or watering down FIAP would do exactly that. It would undermine years of progress, weaken Canada’s reputation as a global leader and signal to the world that we are retreating from the very principles that have defined our leadership for generations.

Colleagues, let us stand firmly behind the Feminist International Assistance Policy, support our partners like CARE Canada and continue to invest in a future where everyone can live with dignity, opportunity and hope.

Please join me in thanking Barbara Grantham and Tara Newell of CARE Canada, who are here today, for their outstanding efforts and leadership. Thank you.