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Canada Auditor General’s report: Conservative government must provide more clarity on foreign aid

Official development assistance is supposed to contribute to the reduction of poverty, take into account the perspectives of the poor receiving the aid, and be consistent with international human rights standards. Canada's auditor general says the government does not ensure that $3 billion given to multilateral organizations meets obligations.

By Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau reporter, Toronto Star, April 30, 2013

OTTAWA—The Conservative government is not giving enough thought to whether the $3 billion it gives to multilateral organizations annually for international development projects meets its legislative obligations, according to a report from the auditor general.

“I am concerned that the information reported to Parliament is not giving a clear picture of the nature of spending on official development assistance,” auditor general Michael Ferguson said in a news release accompanying his Spring 2013 report tabled to the House of Commons Tuesday. “Addressing the weaknesses noted in this audit could enhance the value of the information provided,” Ferguson said.

According to the report, $3 billion of the $5.2 billion the Canadian government spent on official development assistance in fiscal 2010-11 went to multilateral organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme.

The Canadian International Development Agency, the foreign affairs department and the finance department accounted for more than 90 per cent of that spending.

The report notes the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, which came into being in 2008, states the federal funding devoted to official development assistance is supposed to contribute to the reduction of poverty, take into account the perspectives of the poor receiving the aid, and be consistent with international human rights standards. The report argues the legislation requires projects slated for funding to meet those three requirements before the federal government writes a cheque.

The federal government argued that money is not specifically allocated as official development assistance and is reported to Parliament as such after the fact if it meets the three conditions.

The audit looked at 19 projects run by 18 multilateral organizations that received Canadian official development assistance and found that while they all “demonstrated a clear focus on reducing poverty,” it was less clear whether they took the perspectives of the poor into account or met international human rights standards. “None of the core funding proposals we examined provided a clear picture of how the multilateral organizations had taken the perspectives of the poor into account,” says the report.

The report says CIDA checks proposals to make sure they are consistent with the strategies of the governments of the recipient countries, an approach the auditor does not feel goes far enough. “We found that while this assessment provides important information at the strategic level, it provides little information at the operational level to demonstrate how perspectives of the poor have been considered,” says the report.

When it comes to international human rights standards, the report found the funding proposals did not refer to how they would address specific rights, with the exception of gender equality.

CIDA and the other two departments agreed with the recommendation to better demonstrate how funding given to multilateral organizations meets the three conditions.

“CIDA’s multilateral due diligence assessments are updated regularly and inform all investment decision-making, including project funding decisions,” the agency told the auditors.

International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino did not address the recommendations in a statement released through his office Tuesday. “Our government will continue to demonstrate how Canadian taxpayer investments are achieving tangible results for those most in need around the world,” Fantino said in the statement.

NDP international development critic Hélène Laverdière criticized the Conservative government for not doing enough to make sure it is meeting the criteria. “All Canadian aid dollars must meet the criteria set out in legislation, regardless of how they are delivered. The Conservatives are failing to ensure that all aid is being delivered in a manner consistent with international human rights standards and respectful of the perspectives of those it serves.

“Worse still, as the auditor general reported, their reporting to Parliament is unclear — they’re keeping Canadians and their representatives in the dark,” Laverdière said Tuesday.

Here is the full report of Canada's Auditor General. Chapter Four of the report is titled, 'Official Development Assistance through Multilateral Organizations' and is 36 pages long.
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201304_04_e_38189.html


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