My name is Evan Johnson. I'm with Engineers Without Borders Canada. I'm here today to speak to you guys about increasing the ODA budget, the official development assistance budget, in the federal budget for 2017.
Engineers Without Borders Canada is asking for it to be increased by 10% every year for this Parliament's tenure and then show predictable increases until 2023 to get it up to 0.7% of the gross national income. That might seem like an arbitrary number, but that was set by the UN in 1969. You might be skeptical of anything put forth by the UN on funding, but that was set by a commission chaired by none other than Lester B. Pearson. This was a Canadian goal they were aiming for, and as this government has stated, they are trying to re-engage the world, especially on the international assistance side of things, with added focus on women and girls.
Besides being a moral request, it also makes economic sense, since the entire point of the ODA budget is to develop unstable regions of the world, particularly the poorest. Any economist will tell you that if they're looking to trade and invest, they want stable markets. The ODA budget tries to provide social, political, and economic stability to these regions. Overall, that creates a better business environment for Canadian businesses and mutual trade coming from these markets to consumers here in Canada.
All in all, I think it's a worthwhile venture, and I thank you for taking the time to hear from us in every city.