Great. Thank you.
My name is Dave Toycen and I'm president of World Vision Canada. World Vision is the largest relief, development, and advocacy organization in Canada. I am speaking really on behalf of our more than 400,000 supporters who give regularly financially to support our work. We work in more than 90 countries.
My mother always told me I should say thank you first, so I want to do that. You'll note in our submission that there is a thank you section, and I want to particularly note the fact that we're really grateful for the change in the credit regarding stock gifts to charities. That's been a wonderful thing, and we appreciate that.
I want to concentrate in my little time this morning on increasing Canadian development assistance and making sure there's a legislated mandate to made it accountable. I guess the question is what it will take for Canada to do its fair share. When will we reach the 0.7% target? Every minute we delay, another 20 children die of hunger and hunger-related diseases. Last year, all political parties unanimously voted in favour of calling for a plan to increase Canada's aid budget to the international target of 0.7%.
We have tens of thousands of Canadians who have demonstrated their support for increased aid and the other goals that would make poverty history. The concern for the poor overseas, I really believe, is at the highest we've ever seen it. We have more than—as I said earlier—400,000 supporters who vote regularly with their financial giving. They see this as a priority. Of the G-8 countries, only Canada, Japan, and the U.S. have failed to make a commitment to 0.7%.
We have a huge surplus. In fact, yesterday's paper talked about a $6 billion surplus. We have numerous NGOs who can leverage our government aid to have an even greater impact. What will it take? Expert after expert says that we have the resources to end world poverty and that all we lack is the political will. Every side of the House has shown support for Bill C-293. It ensures that poverty eradication gets the attention it deserves. Frankly, as our government and parliamentary representatives, it's really up to you. It's about leadership and doing the right thing for those who have the least in our world.
I'd like to speak very personally. I came to this country from the United States via Australia 18 years ago. Ten years ago, I became a Canadian, a proud Canadian. As an adult, I made a free choice to join this country because I believe in what Canada stands for. Yes, I have employment and a comfortable place to live, but my choice was more about the spirit of Canada and its character. A common perception is that Canadians care about others, even those who appear to offer very little in return.
In my work I travel frequently to developing countries. When the people there discover I'm a Canadian, there is both a respect and an affection for what we stand for. It's not just about money; it's about who we are. That identity has been shaped by the investment Canada has made in people overseas who often have nowhere else to turn. This budget needs to support and respect these values.
Recently I met an elderly grandmother whose children had died of AIDS. She is the caregiver for two beautiful little granddaughters in Tanzania. Pauline is blind in one eye. She has leprosy. All that's left on her hands are a thumb and one finger. All her toes are gone, yet somehow she walks to a market every day and begs for enough money to care for her granddaughters. Her house is falling apart. She lives hand-to-mouth, yet amazingly she is a radiant person, and she refuses to give up. But because of underfunding, her granddaughters will not go to school. In fact, their very lives are under threat. Right now there are 12 million children orphaned by AIDS, and unless we do more, the number is going to reach 15 million by 2010.
Finally, I just want to share one more story. This is about how the choices we make in our country, and you as a government make, can make a difference. Down the road from Paulina is a couple named Elisha and Magdalena. I first met them 18 months ago. They were farmers living in a simple mud hut. Both were HIV positive. Magdalena was lying on a mat under a tree. Her husband was emaciated. The children were traumatized watching their parents die before their eyes. Six months later I returned and asked to see them. I was surprised that the staff said yes. Walking to them, I got one of the surprises of my life. They came walking around the corner, a picture of health. Why? They'd gotten anti-retroviral drugs and they'd been on them for a year. Now there are two fewer dead parents and we don't have two orphaned children.
The drugs were provided by the global AIDS fund, which Canada supports, and we arranged for the testing. It's a miracle. There are two parents now alive.
The world is watching and waiting for Canada's role, and I'm simply asking, what will it take for Canada to do its fair share to end poverty? It means increasing our aid by 18% annually, committing to a plan of 0.7%, and simply recommending this legislated mandate to hold us accountable to make poverty our priority.
Thank you very much.