My name is Angela Howell and I am a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders Canada.
We ask that in budget 2018, Canada commit to a timetable of predictable annual increases to its international assistance envelope that would bring Canada's development assistance to 0.31% of GNI within this government's first mandate. Canada's current level of development assistance is 0.26% of GNI, and it is the lowest in recent history. While development assistance globally has increased 9% in the past year, according to the OECD, it is disappointing that Canada's own contributions have declined by 4%.
Increasing aid will help Canada achieve sustainable development goals, and it also has an economic connection. Forthcoming research from the Canadian International Development Platform suggests that Canadian exports to countries receiving development assistance tends to be higher than they otherwise might have been without aid.
We hope budget 2018 can correct this downward spending trend so that Canada fulfills its global commitments.
Thank you so much for your time.