Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to discuss our report on international assistance in support of gender equality, which was tabled in the House of Commons on March 27.
I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is a priority concern across the world, one that is captured in the United Nations sustainable development goals. In 2017, Canada launched its feminist international assistance policy, which applies to all of Global Affairs Canada's spending for international assistance.
When women and girls have equal opportunities to succeed, they can be powerful agents of change, driving economic growth and improving the quality of life for their families and communities. Under the feminist international assistance policy, Global Affairs Canada committed to funding projects to improve gender equality and the conditions of the world's poorest and most marginalized populations.
Our audit focused on whether the department supported gender equality in low- and middle-income countries, and reported on the results for the approximately $3.5 billion it spent on bilateral assistance projects each year since the launch of the policy. We found that the department was unable to demonstrate that its spending improved the lives of women and girls. Significant weaknesses in the department's information management practices resulted in missing or incomplete project files that could not support decision-making or demonstrate due diligence. As a result, the department is unable to track overall outcomes against policy goals.