Mr. Speaker, joined by rock star Bono, who had come to Ottawa to attend an international symposium on HIV and education, the Prime Minister took pride in stating that the decision to increase the international aid envelope by 8% a year was made when he was finance minister.
Bono was quick to react by saying that, “In fact, 8% a year is not enough. We would prefer 15% starting this year”.
If Bono seemed disappointed when the Prime Minister bragged about his good deeds, then imagine how he would have reacted if he had known the whole story.
When the Liberals came to power in 1993, Canada devoted 0.44% of its wealth to development assistance. By the time the current Prime Minister left the Department of Finance, the figure was down to a mere 0.27%, which is a 40% decrease.
In fact, if the government continues to increase its budget for development aid by 8% a year, it will reach the UN objective only in 2033, 65 years after Lester B. Pearson's proposal.
Bono's reaction—