Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to join the debate on Motion No. 14, and I begin by thanking the member for York South—Weston—Etobicoke for bringing it forward.
It appears that the minister has been listening to those of us on this side of the House, because the motion speaks to three things. First, it speaks about strengthening the accountability and effectiveness of Canada's international development assistance. Second, it speaks about making sure that our international development efforts bring reciprocal economic benefit to Canada. Third, it speaks about making the minister more accountable to this House by requiring an annual report to Parliament not only on the benefits received by other countries, but also on the economic opportunities created for Canadians.
Importantly, the focus of this motion is not on the big companies that often benefit from government largesse, but on the workers, innovators, and small and medium-sized businesses that have long been a priority for Conservatives. All of this is a good start.
At a time when so many Canadians are struggling to pay their mortgages, put food on the table and pay their bills, I would have liked to see the government go further. I would have liked a commitment to redirect a portion of the roughly $8.4 billion we spend on foreign aid to be used back home to reduce the deficit and help Canadians with their bills.
However, as I said at the outset, this motion is a good start, a welcomed move in the right direction. I rise today to support it, while offering some constructive suggestions on how we can work across the aisle to restore accountability, results and value for money in Canada's international development work.
Canada currently spends about $8.4 billion a year on foreign aid. Of that, roughly $5.5 billion flows through Global Affairs Canada's grants and contributions programs. Earlier this year, the department promised that 86% of that spending would finally be subject to more rigorous checks. I cannot help but ask what happened to the other 14% and the remaining $2.9 billion. I urge the government and the minister to work toward ensuring that every penny of Canada's foreign aid is properly audited and accounted for. The Prime Minister has ordered all departments to rein in spending. When he talks about tightening belts, this is one of the places he should begin.
In recent years, Canada's international development programming has become increasingly disconnected from its results. The Auditor General found that Global Affairs was not effectively monitoring its funded projects and, in some cases, did not even have a clear idea of what it wanted to achieve. Too many projects have been overly generous, overly ideological and light on accountability. There have even been reports of funds being misused or diverted to organizations that are sympathetic to terrorism, and I find this to be totally unacceptable.
What this motion offers is a partial but constructive path forward. Canadians want to know that their tax dollars are making a real difference. They want to know that those tax dollars are saving lives, strengthening economies and building stability both abroad and at home, not disappearing into bureaucracy or ideology.
The motion's requirement for new policies to create opportunities for reciprocal economic benefit should allow Canadian expertise and innovation to play a greater role in delivering development goals. When Canadian farmers share their knowledge to improve food security or when educators bring digital learning tools to developing nations in ways that benefit both partners, that is a step in the right direction because teaching and contributing has benefits that we can enjoy back at home. That is how international development should work: projects that lift people out of poverty while also supporting Canadian jobs and Canadian innovation.
The motion also proposes a dedicated economic partnerships window “to support projects that align poverty reduction abroad with economic security at home, and that utilize Canadian economic strengths such as clean energy, agriculture, digital technology, and education”.
Right now, those are just words on a page, but I can see how they represent an idea worth exploring, so long as this concept does not lead to yet another layer of Liberal bureaucracy, where yet another friend of the Prime Minister ends up with yet another a $600,000 salary. The goal should be efficiency, not expansion, and if the minister would like help in developing this concept in a lean and efficient way, my door will always be open to him.
The new window should be funded within the existing envelope, not on the backs of taxpayers. lt should focus on clear priorities: Canadian innovation that leads the world; agriculture and agri-tech, where our farmers and researchers have proven expertise; digital technology, which expands access to education and opportunity wherever it finds itself; and skills training, which helps young people abroad build a future for themselves. Each of these concepts connects compassion abroad with economic security and development here at home.
The motion also calls for the Minister for International Development to report annually to Parliament. That requirement is essential. Accountability turns spending into trust. When Canadians can see how their tax dollars are used to benefit both Canada and the world and see real results, their confidence grows. Transparency is not an obstacle to compassion; it strengthens it. When Canadians see tangible results, they are proud to give. Under Conservative governments, accountability and effectiveness were not just words; they were principles. Our more limited assistance abroad will show that disciplined, focused aid saves lives and builds global credibility. That same discipline is sorely needed today. lnstead of sprawling programs that lack oversight, we need targeted initiatives with clear objectives and measurable outcomes. Compassion must be matched with competence.
As Conservatives, we will continue to scrutinize every dollar the government spends. Canadians are facing record costs, higher taxes and a deepening affordability crisis. They deserve to know that their contributions are used wisely and that their generosity is respected, because generosity must always come with responsibility. Stakeholders in the international development sector understand this. They know that success depends not on the number of announcements made, but on the real difference that programs make in people's lives. From my vantage point, the government makes too many announcements with promises that it does not fulfill. I hope this motion will be different and that it will inspire similar measures across government.
This motion does not require new money; it requires a new mindset. lt calls for results, accountability and mutual benefit. lt recognizes that Canada is strongest when we pair compassion with competence, leadership with integrity, and generosity with accountability.
Conservatives will support this motion because it sets a standard the government should already have been meeting. We will watch closely to ensure that this commitment becomes reality. We will also continue to push the government to spend less abroad and more at home during these challenging times, but for now, Motion No. 14 represents a tentative step in the right direction. With the government, I will take it and hope to build on it.