Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 16th, 2010

[Gale Lee]

If we are approached by a country that needs assistance, we first of all find out what are their expectations and what are their needs. We will examine, in terms of our own strengths, if it's a need that we can fill and how we fit, how we can fill a gap.

We would develop a proposal that we would take to CIDA or other funding agencies where we know there is a possibility of getting funding. Based on that proposal and whether it's approved or not, then we can go ahead and develop a project plan for implementation.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

How many people are on your CESO permanent staff?

[Gale Lee]

Right now there are 40 staff members, but we have a lot of in-house volunteers who come to work in our offices.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

You're a long-established organization, as you mentioned. Are your headquarters in Toronto?

[Gale Lee]

Yes, in Toronto, and we have an office in Montreal.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Just very roughly, in round figures, what is your annual budget for that basic organization?

[Gale Lee]

For the international services, right now we have a five-year contract with CIDA, which amounts to $12.6 million. For national services, I don't have an exact figure, but I know we have contracts with INAC. Those are based on annual financing. It's around $2 million a year, I think.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

CIDA and INAC: are those your sole sources for that core funding?

[Gale Lee]

At the moment, yes.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

When the executives go, how long would they be expected to be...? I'm sure it must vary. What would be the shortest, what would the longest, and what would be the average time when an executive is dispatched to wherever?

[Gale Lee]

Usually the shortest is two weeks and the maximum would be two months.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Oh, I see. But you were mentioning, I thought, that you had fairly long-term projects.

[Gale Lee]

Oh, yes. That is where we have a lead VA, but that lead VA first does a needs assessment and comes back to Canada, and then manages the program from Canada. They go back periodically to the country to follow up. During that period, we send different volunteers to implement different aspects of the project in various specializations.

For example, the first assignment for that action plan may be developing a strategic plan for implementing a computerized system in a municipality. Out of that will come assignments to actually do training in that software or in using the software and in developing the software. Other training may come in improving the systems so the transparency and accountability systems are in place and so the programs work. They are short-term, periodic, and over a number of years.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

What expenses are covered?

[Gale Lee]

On expenses that are covered, we cover the airfare, medicals, the insurance, and visa costs. I talked about shared accountability and shared responsibility. We usually require the local partner, whether it's a municipality or government agency, to provide for local costs for that volunteer, which are the costs of accommodation, meals, and transportation.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

I just want to be clear that I understand you. Let's say that a person went to Paraguay to work on a computer project and they're down there for three weeks. There would be an agency or an individual in Paraguay who would be looking after their accommodation and local transportation and things of that nature.

[Gale Lee]

This is how we like to work, because we feel that the local partners should invest, should put up some kind of their own financial investment, because that way I think they will ensure that whatever recommendations come out of that project.... They want to see success. They want to show results for the money they've invested.

So we always try to ask. Sometimes we subsidize part of it if it's a poor organization, if we know it would be too much, but we always ask them to at least symbolically put some kind of investment up front to support it.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

So if you had a five- or a seven-year project, a singular project, it might involve quite a number of volunteers who would actually go to that.

[Gale Lee]

That's right. Over a two-year program, let's say, we can have the lead VA and then about six or seven different volunteers going to do specialized aspects of that program. But he oversees that they mesh together and they build upon each other and don't duplicate.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Do we have time for Lois?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Go ahead, Ms. Brown.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm delighted to be filling in for one of my colleagues today, because Mongolia is actually a country that I've taken a significant personal interest in after reading some biographies of Genghis Khan, so thank you very much for the opportunity to be here.

I have some questions for you, Ms. Lee. For a number of years, my family was involved with an organization called AFS Interculture Canada, an exchange program where we hosted as a volunteer family. The kids who came to our place lived with us for a full year. They did a year at the local high school while living with us. I figure that I have kids all over the world. We have very special relationships with every one of those students. We've maintained those relationships and they're ongoing.

I wonder what the opportunity might be for nationals to come here to do some sort of a training program in a shadow capacity. Is that something you have considered?

[Gale Lee]

Actually, I didn't have time to get into a lot of detail, but we do what we call reverse assignments, where we actually bring in people from our partners and expose them to Canadian practices in Canada, and they spend time--

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

How long would they stay?

[Gale Lee]

Usually it's one to two weeks. The factor that dictates a lot of that is cost, of course.

For example, with the municipalities, we would bring some municipal officers to Canada and match them with municipalities around Toronto. They would spend time in those municipalities to see how things actually work on site and maybe take back with them some of what they learned.