Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 28th, 2025

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

We are actually one of the largest donors per capita in the world. In fact, even without a per capita basis I believe Canada is seventh in the world in terms of ODA and development. We punch above our weight in almost every single category.

We are also one of the ones now praised by our counterparts, whether it's G7, G20 or OECD countries, which commend us for maintaining our strong commitment to development and humanitarian assistance. I would proudly say that we actually get commended for keeping that.

Yes, the climate has changed quite a bit. Others have pulled back. We have been strong in our commitment to maintaining ODA and—

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Secretary of State, excuse me for interrupting, but my question was not a pretext for you to brag. It was a specific question: Does Canada have a plan to reach the target of 0.7% of its GDP in international aid? If so, how, and if not, why not? It's a simple question.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I'll be very honest. I think that with the financial situation and our global stresses in terms of our trade, to maintain what we have is a strength, and we should pride ourselves as Canadians on punching above our weight. Based on that, I'll leave it there.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Secretary of State, there are many small international aid organizations in Canada. For example, in my riding, there is the Centre de solidarité internationale du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. The organization has been around since 1979 and has carried out numerous projects across the country. Its projects have had a real impact—both for communities in which they take place and in Lac-Saint-Jean. People from Lac-Saint-Jean take part in these projects with partners from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ecuador and Senegal. They conduct solidarity projects and implement global citizenship education programs, for example.

In short, the organization has carried out a huge number of projects, yet it has seen its funding decrease. Here are the figures, Mr. Secretary of State. In 2019–2020, it received $603,000 from the federal government. In 2022–2023, it received $584,797. Currently, in 2024–2025, funding was reduced to $5,000—which is slightly less than the salary of an employee hired for the summer. Hiring someone for the summer actually costs the organization, since it has to add a little money.

Small organizations like this one have been sounding the alarm for a very long time because they do not have access to federal funding, even though they're probably better at accountability and on-the-ground impact, and probably spend their money more wisely.

First, how do you explain the fact that funding for these organizations has dwindled to a trickle?

Second, do you intend to do anything to enable them to return to meaningful federal funding, as was the case in the not-so-distant past?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I'll be very brief.

As to that particular organization's funding, I think GAC has a rigorous process to vet those, and, maybe off-line, we'll try to get you that answer. Twenty-five per cent of our aid goes to Canadian NGOs that are doing work across the globe, and we're trying to make the application process simpler so that they can have a simplified way while maintaining the proper governance and accountability of our funding.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

We'll now start the second round of questions, beginning with MP Rood.

You have five minutes.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, since 2015, Canada has sent $108.9 million in aid to China. What precise objectives justified this spend, and what measurable outcomes were achieved for Canadians and for human rights on the ground?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Canada doesn't give any bilateral funding directly to the Chinese state or to its government. The work we do is for civil society work, for human rights, for gender, and for climate initiatives to make the area more climate-resilient. Most of that funding is done through multilaterals. We contribute to the Red Cross, Oxfam and other UN organizations that have smaller percentages that go into China. The only bilateral ones are the ones that I particularly mentioned, and they are mostly for increasing human rights or strengthening the organizations that are working in that regard.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Minister, your May 6 briefing note said specifically that 39% of China aid went directly to Chinese recipients.

Who exactly received these funds and for what projects? How were they vetted for links to the Chinese state, the People's Liberation Army or United Front entities?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I can certainly say that none of them were given to the Chinese government or any of their organizations. These are only for civil society funds. I can give you that number in one second. I think it was $14.6 million that was in multilateral funding for organizations that Canada contributes to that have an active role in China. That is pretty much the only multilateral funding.

I can say that both the previous government before us and the Conservatives gave $360 million to China over their tenure, including some funds directly to the state. I think ours has been a very small level, and it's only for civil society, human rights groups, and NGOs that are working on climate. They have only been bilateral with those civil society groups, and there has been nothing with the state itself.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Minister, the briefing note is contrary to that. It says it was given directly to Chinese recipients. Perhaps, then, could I please ask that you table to this committee a full list of projects since 2015, including their budgets, implementers, deliverables, audits and independent evaluations?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I would be happy to do so.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you very much.

The briefing note also cites OECD eligibility as a justification for funding China. Does the OECD eligibility override Canadian foreign policy priorities, national security risk and values considerations, and where are those trade-off decisions documented? Who signs off?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

As I said, we do not give any funding to China itself or to the Chinese government. The funding goes to—I actually have this in front of me—the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, which gets about $880,000. That helps provide small contributions to local graduate student initiatives that work on inclusive government, human rights, gender equality, peace and security. We have a very small program, the Canada-China scholars' exchange program. It's about $200,000, and it helps build cultural understanding. Between those two, it's been operated for over 50 years under consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments. The last one will be the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. It's an international advisory body that provides support to China and environmental and sustainable development policies.

That's how we do our work. We don't give any contributions.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Where are they documented, and are you the one who signs off on these, then?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

They're probably all well below my signing-off threshold, but Global Affairs officials would sign off on these.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Minister, the department says there has been no “direct bilateral assistance to Chinese state authorities since 2013” but that aid flowed via multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and “non-state partners”. What safeguards prevent pass-through funding from indirectly supporting state organs or entities under Canadian sanctions?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I don't think there are any sanctions in that regard, but they're mostly multilateral development banks. They are also contributions that are...the Green Climate Fund. The sectors that they are working on are in energy, transport, storage of energy, and environmental protection. Those are the two areas that some of these multilateral development banks have been funding, including in places like China.

I think Canada's share of the multilateral...is about $12.1 million.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

We'll next go to MP Mona Fortier.

You have five minutes.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Thank you, Secretary of State, for joining us today.

As part of the exercise you're planning to conduct, rather than giving us an overview of the government's contribution since 2015, I would prefer you used 2005 as a starting point—if it's not too much to ask—since the Harper government also made investments in that area. That would allow us to conduct an interesting comparative analysis.

We are well aware that the government invests billions of dollars in international aid and that we have a concrete role in working with NGOs, which are doing important work on the ground.

I'm coming back to some questions from my colleague Mr. Brunelle‑Duceppe, but in my riding, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, there are several NGO headquarters—including Cooperation Canada, Oxfam Canada and Cuso International. If I listed them all, we'd be here all day.

How will we continue to work with these NGOs in modernizing Canada's role, as you mentioned?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Sure. I would always call it a non-partisan file. This is a file of development, humanitarian assistance. I think I've spoken to all my counterparts and critics, and everyone agrees that we should all focus on making the lives of those who are most in need better. It's not partisan in nature, but we do have accountability and other issues that we always have to maintain. That's where Parliament plays an important role.

When it comes to small NGOs or Canadian NGOs, we do a lot of work with them, a lot of funding for them. I have been told that it's a little onerous sometimes for smaller organizations to apply the accountability, but I will probably say that 25% of the funding goes to them. We would love to give funding to more Canadian NGOs. Sometimes the narrative in terms of why multilaterals get more funding or greater funding is that they just have the infrastructure on the ground. They are able to rapidly respond much more easily. If I may speak candidly, we get more bang for our buck for Canada, because they have the ability to be there; they have the infrastructure. Setting up shop in a new place all at once is harder.

Canada has a good number of programs. In Quebec, Desjardins is one of the amazing global organizations doing a lot of NGO work. I've seen their work in West Africa and in Latin America, and they have been doing a great job and will continue to find more ways to get more Canadian participation.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Indeed, the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec celebrated 125 years of work in Canada and around the world. I'm glad you mentioned Desjardins.

We were talking about NGOs, but let's talk a bit about the private sector. You mentioned that the private sector could and should play a greater role in Canada's approach.

Can you give us some concrete examples of what is currently happening that is important in achieving our objectives and priorities?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

This has been a priority in the G7, among the leaders themselves. Prime Minister Carney committed $391 million for innovative finance to catalyze private capital towards economic growth. There was another $50 million given to a program called SCALED, to address the barriers that the private sector was facing in terms of investment in developing countries. It's to simplify and standardize the blended finance structures so that our sustainable development goals are achieved, and the international development banks have the tools and means.

When I hosted the G7 development ministerial, we hosted a reception. Expectations were for, maybe, 50 of these funds and their participants to come. Over 100 came—115. These included from philanthropic groups like the Rockefeller and Ford foundations to large asset managers like BlackRock, Brookfield and Macquarie, and to state banks and state development funds like the Austrian Development Bank, the Qatar Development Bank and many others. They showed a huge appetite to give and put money in. They're usually looking for stability in terms of currency, governance, how they get their money and whether it is secured.

They're willing to do concessional financing as well, at a lot of these foundations particularly, but we have to give them the foundations for that, and that's how a small contribution goes a long way. If we capitalize a bank in terms of their reserves, or we give them the structures for how they can register or do blended finance—when the private corporations keep their money a bit more safe and we take the risk—they're more than willing to participate. It's been a game-changer in that regard.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Thank you very much.