Government Operations Committee on April 30th, 2012

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thanks.

I've noted since I was elected that there has been a reduction in and a consolidation of the number of countries Canada is delivering aid to. I'm wondering if you could advise us on the criteria for determining which countries are struck off and which are included. Is that criteria transparent? Is it at the discretion of the minister? Is it at the discretion of CIDA? Do those factors include good governance, transparency, and reduced corruption?

[Julia Hill]

There were a number of criteria established, which included need, the ability to actually make a difference, and the effectiveness and efficiency of working with that country. It's on that basis that propositions came forward from the department. Those are the decisions of the government rather than the department.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I'm simply raising that because in the introductory remarks it was mentioned that one of the priorities for CIDA is to support the development of good governance. It seems logical to me that one of the criteria for continuing aid where there's been aid for 10, 20, or 30 years, for example, would be whether they are moving in a path of reducing corruption and improving good governance. Is that not right now one of the criteria for deciding who's in and who's out?

[Julia Hill]

I would suggest that it's part of what we consider the ability to make the difference. And there is efficiency and effectiveness. Can you actually work in that country? Can you actually work with that government? Is the government actually behind its own poverty reduction strategy?

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Okay. That's interesting.

[Julia Hill]

I'm sorry, when I say the government, I mean the developing country government.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

There's been some level of controversy around this move of having CIDA help pay for public engagement by Canadian mining companies. I'm wondering if those projects are now categorized under CIDA-INC, if that still exists. Can you tell us what percentage of CIDA dollars now go to CIDA-INC industry-related projects versus general aid through governments or through NGOs—NGO to NGO or community to community?

[Julia Hill]

We were just conferring to try to get the date correct, but INC is no longer a part of CIDA. It was transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade a couple of years ago.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

So this project where some CIDA projects work with mining companies, that's not with CIDA-INC; it's now in CIDA. So there are two pockets for industry now?

[Julia Hill]

Yes, that would be through partnership.

[Arun Thangaraj]

Yes, to the extent that those projects are funded by CIDA, they would be in our Partnerships with Canadians branch, and they would be included in the estimates.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Okay, thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Pat Martin]

Your time is up, Linda, I'm afraid.

Next we're going to Bernard Trottier for five minutes.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, members of CIDA, for coming in this afternoon. It's really important that you're here to talk about the estimates.

I should remind the committee that the minister actually did defend the main estimates in front of the foreign affairs committee on March 14. There was a question raised earlier about the disappointment that she wasn't here. As we were talking about, other ministers do go in front of their committees to defend their estimates.

I was reading your report that you put together. It's the CIDA “Statistical Report on International Assistance” for 2010-11. I believe that's the latest report that's available online. When will the next report be available?

[Greta Bossenmaier]

It's an annual report, and I don't have in front of me the exact date it's coming out.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Sometime after the end of the fiscal year, presumably?

[Greta Bossenmaier]

Yes.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

I'll cite some numbers from the 2010-11 report, just because I want to put what you're doing at CIDA into a longer-term context. In 1990 you cited some numbers here—this was your report to the OECD Development Assistance Committee—in current U.S. dollars, and I guess that's an agreement among countries to have a similar basis for reporting numbers. In 1990, and this was the combination of bilateral and multilateral aid, total development assistance was $2.5 billion in 1990, and about 60% of that, I understand, was CIDA. It went to a low 10 years later in 2000 of about $1.8 billion, and in 2010-11 it was far more than double that at $5.1 billion.

Can you describe CIDA's trend over that 20-year period, what's happened with those budgets? Has it tracked that overall development assistance expenditure that you cite in your report? At $5.1 billion, obviously, there are things in there that are from the Department of Finance, such as debt relief and so on. It's not all just CIDA budgets, but out of that $5.1 billion, your main estimates are $3.5 billion. Could you describe what those points in time, 1990, 2000 to 2010, would look like for CIDA?

[Greta Bossenmaier]

Thank you for the question.

I don't have those three different reference points in front of me. You are correct that this year's main estimates are $3.4 billion.

I'm looking at my colleagues to see if anyone has that information from those three data points. If they don't, we could get back to you.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

I hate to pin you down on a specific number, but is it fair to say that in the last 10 years, between 2000 and, say, 2010-11, CIDA's budget has increased a lot ?

[Arun Thangaraj]

It has. The government has committed to increase the international assistance envelope, and that's why you see the growth in that number. As a result, CIDA received an increment on an annual basis up until a couple of fiscal years ago that increased the size of its budget.

In addition, there have been items provided through the supplementary estimates process—for example, the climate change financing was provided through the last supplementary estimates process. And that, again, increased the amount you would see in that report.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Okay. Another thing I noticed in your report is the percentage of your aid that's untied now. Ten years ago, in 2000, about 75% of bilateral aid was tied, meaning that you had to use Canadian suppliers; in 2010-11 the trend was getting well above 90%. Could you describe the situation now with bilateral aid?

[Julia Hill]

Yes. Also, if I may, Mr. Chair, I would like to add to the first part of the answer that of course in that period to which the honourable member referred, we've also doubled aid to Africa. So that was a significant achievement.

I've now forgotten the second question, I'm sorry.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

It had to do with tied aid versus untied aid. What's the situation currently with untied aid?

[Julia Hill]

Thank you.

Since 2008 all food aid has been fully untied, and that's quite an achievement. It's something that governments and countries have talked about for many years, and Canada really led the way. So that was a significant achievement.

We have virtually untied all the rest of our aid as well. There's a tiny proportion that is related to specific requests for Canadian expertise, so that is still defined as falling in technical assistance as tied aid, but it is only when it is for Canadian expertise.