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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Government: increase foreign aid to your long-pledged 0.7% of GDP
Nathaniel P.
started this petition to
Prime minister Justin Trudeau and the LIberal Government
With a new government in Ottawa, it’s
time that Canada set a schedule to reach the target of 0.7 percent of GDP
dedicated to official development assistance promised to the world 50 years ago
by Liberal PM Lester B. Pearson
At present, the Canadian contribution to international development assistance stands at just 0.24 percent of GDP . In recent decades we have consistently stood among the least generous industrialized nations , despite having one of the best economies in the world after the crash of 2008.
In 2014, the last year for which figures are available, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that, in terms of total dollar amount, the only G7 country with a smaller aid budget than Canada was Italy—which had an unemployment rate of over 12% at the time. On the other hand, the United Kingdom achieved the 0.7 percent target in the same year that their government posted a deficit of nearly $200 billion (CAD).
The only thing preventing Canada from doing the same is a lack of political will.
Those who argue for a more modest target defend this position by suggesting that we should be pragmatic because there will never be enough money forthcoming in the current political climate. Yet the amount of aid increase required to achieving Canada's international pledge is a rounding error in the Federal budget.
Others will repeat the tired mantra that we must “help our own first,” which is a false dichotomy. If there is a shortage of funding for Canadian social programs, once again it is political will that has pared those down, just as it is political will behind the decisions to cut foreign assistance. When government after government is elected under the banner of lower taxes, services will inevitably be cut. Those who cry "we must support our own first," I believe are the same who support governments that also cut services to the poor, seniors and disabled.
The world’s poorest people don’t need cynicism, defeatism, or plain old prejudice —they need advocates who will lobby the government until the resources are finally pledged. We must refuse to be satisfied with anything less than a fully costed timeline to achieve 0.7 percent by 2020 included in this year’s federal budget.
This is a large but achievable task—the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands have already done it. After all, we’re talking about protecting and improving human lives, not about abstract fluctuations of the federal government’s ledgers. I have seen first hand how inspired, creative, and hard working people in the developing world are so agonizingly limited by a profound lack of resources, while we in the developed world look the other way.
Why should we care?
Aside from our common humanity and the obvious gross tribalism inherent in thinking that your neighbour's life is more valuable than another person who happened to be born in another country, there are very important, moral, and even self-interested reasons why development assistance is crucial for all of us who live on this planet.
Nutrition
Malnutrition can result in stunting (low height for age), impaired cognitive function, a weakened immune system, and significant decreases in future earning power—irreversibly continuing the cycle of poverty for another generation. It costs far more to save a poorly-nourished child than it does to take preventative measures, because the principle cost of malnutrition lies in the financial consequences of the child’s curtailed future .
Indeed, children with access to proper nutrition do better in school, and in adult life they earn 20% more in the labour market, and are 10% more likely to own their own businesses.
Furthermore, the 2012 Copenhagen Consensus found that nutrition-specific interventions deliver some of the best returns on investment of all development interventions, offering a benefit-to-cost ratio of 16 to 1 —for every dollar we put in $16 are gained—and they could reduce stunting globally by one-third and child mortality by one-quarter.
Tuberculosis
By the end of this year, programs supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria are on track to save 22 million lives since 2002. It’s now time for the Fund to be replenished. A full funding replenishment for 2017-2019 will bring that total to 30-32 million lives saved by 2020. Moreover, the $13 billion (USD) needed from donor countries over that time period would lead to net economic gains of up to $290 billion (USD) through better health and a more productive society—including through household savings and the economic contributions of those who receive lifesaving treatment.
To put this in perspective, for every $100 million (USD) Canada pledges, we would save up to 60 000 lives , avert up to 2.3 million new infections, and spur $2.2 billion (USD) in long-term economic gains.
Polio
The world is on the brink of eradicating polio. But mathematical models suggest that failing to achieve eradication could result in a resurgence of polio—leading to as many as 200 000 cases of paralysis per year within a decade.
Treating those cases would cost significantly more than eradication and the human costs of the disease would be immeasurable. Conversely, eradicating polio will free up scarce resources that can be invested in other global efforts to end extreme poverty. Estimates show that eradicating polio could generate net economic gains of up to $45 billion (USD) globally over the next 30 years.
Education
Despite strong progress over the last 15 years, more than 125 million children and youth remain out of school, the majority of them girls. Education is not only a fundamental human right but it has a remarkably positive effect on both incomes of individuals and the economic growth of countries.
One extra year of schooling increases an individual’s earnings by up to 10% while each additional year of schooling raises the average gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.37%. Education also has profound benefits beyond economic: girls that are kept in school beyond grade 7 are more likely to marry later, less likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth, more likely to have healthier children and more likely to send their own children to school. Canadian support to education fell to 7.8% in 2014, down from a high of 12.2% in 2010. Globally, the financing gap for education is estimated at US $39 billion.
In the end, humanity simply cannot afford to squander another generation of talent to the ravages of extreme poverty. The money we devote to ODA is an investment in the world’s future that pays huge dividends. Not only is it the morally right thing to do, it also makes tremendous economic sense.
So let’s spread the message that Prime Minister Trudeau was right when he said that we must grow the economy ‘from the heart outwards’. Because when we help those who need it most we end up helping ourselves as well.
“Canada’s diversity and connections to the world are among our greatest economic assets, and will prove vital as we work to grow the middle class. Moving forward, we will focus not only on enhancing the prosperity of Canadians, but of all global citizens in an inclusive way.”
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Note that links to official stats quoted can be supplied on request.
At present, the Canadian contribution to international development assistance stands at just 0.24 percent of GDP . In recent decades we have consistently stood among the least generous industrialized nations , despite having one of the best economies in the world after the crash of 2008.
In 2014, the last year for which figures are available, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that, in terms of total dollar amount, the only G7 country with a smaller aid budget than Canada was Italy—which had an unemployment rate of over 12% at the time. On the other hand, the United Kingdom achieved the 0.7 percent target in the same year that their government posted a deficit of nearly $200 billion (CAD).
The only thing preventing Canada from doing the same is a lack of political will.
Those who argue for a more modest target defend this position by suggesting that we should be pragmatic because there will never be enough money forthcoming in the current political climate. Yet the amount of aid increase required to achieving Canada's international pledge is a rounding error in the Federal budget.
Others will repeat the tired mantra that we must “help our own first,” which is a false dichotomy. If there is a shortage of funding for Canadian social programs, once again it is political will that has pared those down, just as it is political will behind the decisions to cut foreign assistance. When government after government is elected under the banner of lower taxes, services will inevitably be cut. Those who cry "we must support our own first," I believe are the same who support governments that also cut services to the poor, seniors and disabled.
The world’s poorest people don’t need cynicism, defeatism, or plain old prejudice —they need advocates who will lobby the government until the resources are finally pledged. We must refuse to be satisfied with anything less than a fully costed timeline to achieve 0.7 percent by 2020 included in this year’s federal budget.
This is a large but achievable task—the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands have already done it. After all, we’re talking about protecting and improving human lives, not about abstract fluctuations of the federal government’s ledgers. I have seen first hand how inspired, creative, and hard working people in the developing world are so agonizingly limited by a profound lack of resources, while we in the developed world look the other way.
Why should we care?
Aside from our common humanity and the obvious gross tribalism inherent in thinking that your neighbour's life is more valuable than another person who happened to be born in another country, there are very important, moral, and even self-interested reasons why development assistance is crucial for all of us who live on this planet.
Nutrition
Malnutrition can result in stunting (low height for age), impaired cognitive function, a weakened immune system, and significant decreases in future earning power—irreversibly continuing the cycle of poverty for another generation. It costs far more to save a poorly-nourished child than it does to take preventative measures, because the principle cost of malnutrition lies in the financial consequences of the child’s curtailed future .
Indeed, children with access to proper nutrition do better in school, and in adult life they earn 20% more in the labour market, and are 10% more likely to own their own businesses.
Furthermore, the 2012 Copenhagen Consensus found that nutrition-specific interventions deliver some of the best returns on investment of all development interventions, offering a benefit-to-cost ratio of 16 to 1 —for every dollar we put in $16 are gained—and they could reduce stunting globally by one-third and child mortality by one-quarter.
Tuberculosis
By the end of this year, programs supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria are on track to save 22 million lives since 2002. It’s now time for the Fund to be replenished. A full funding replenishment for 2017-2019 will bring that total to 30-32 million lives saved by 2020. Moreover, the $13 billion (USD) needed from donor countries over that time period would lead to net economic gains of up to $290 billion (USD) through better health and a more productive society—including through household savings and the economic contributions of those who receive lifesaving treatment.
To put this in perspective, for every $100 million (USD) Canada pledges, we would save up to 60 000 lives , avert up to 2.3 million new infections, and spur $2.2 billion (USD) in long-term economic gains.
Polio
The world is on the brink of eradicating polio. But mathematical models suggest that failing to achieve eradication could result in a resurgence of polio—leading to as many as 200 000 cases of paralysis per year within a decade.
Treating those cases would cost significantly more than eradication and the human costs of the disease would be immeasurable. Conversely, eradicating polio will free up scarce resources that can be invested in other global efforts to end extreme poverty. Estimates show that eradicating polio could generate net economic gains of up to $45 billion (USD) globally over the next 30 years.
Education
Despite strong progress over the last 15 years, more than 125 million children and youth remain out of school, the majority of them girls. Education is not only a fundamental human right but it has a remarkably positive effect on both incomes of individuals and the economic growth of countries.
One extra year of schooling increases an individual’s earnings by up to 10% while each additional year of schooling raises the average gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.37%. Education also has profound benefits beyond economic: girls that are kept in school beyond grade 7 are more likely to marry later, less likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth, more likely to have healthier children and more likely to send their own children to school. Canadian support to education fell to 7.8% in 2014, down from a high of 12.2% in 2010. Globally, the financing gap for education is estimated at US $39 billion.
In the end, humanity simply cannot afford to squander another generation of talent to the ravages of extreme poverty. The money we devote to ODA is an investment in the world’s future that pays huge dividends. Not only is it the morally right thing to do, it also makes tremendous economic sense.
So let’s spread the message that Prime Minister Trudeau was right when he said that we must grow the economy ‘from the heart outwards’. Because when we help those who need it most we end up helping ourselves as well.
“Canada’s diversity and connections to the world are among our greatest economic assets, and will prove vital as we work to grow the middle class. Moving forward, we will focus not only on enhancing the prosperity of Canadians, but of all global citizens in an inclusive way.”
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Note that links to official stats quoted can be supplied on request.
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