Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce--Lachine, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Cooperation.
I am pre-eminently privileged to speak on behalf of the Government of Canada and state that we support the motion. I am confident that I reflect to the House similar sentiments from my constituents, the people of Winnipeg North--St. Paul, and other fellow Canadians nationwide because support for international development activities is at the core of Canadian humanity.
I am speaking today on behalf the Minister for International Cooperation who would have been here were she not in the midst of the UNESCO meetings in Paris exploring avenues on how to improve access to education for all boys and girls in developing countries.
Last week the minister co-chaired the World Coalition for Africa meeting in Botswana which focused on organizing support for the development and reduction of poverty, notably on the role of the private sector in the recovery and progress of the African economies so necessary in achieving these goals. Poverty reduction and sustainable development are key global challenges.
The motion before us calls upon the government to review its international aid policy. In fact the minister and her department, CIDA, are already engaged in a process of reviewing our program to bolster the effectiveness of Canada's aid to developing countries and to make Canada's development co-operation program more effective in building a better quality of life for some of the poorest and most marginalized people in the world.
The minister and her officials visited 10 Canadian cities and heard from over 1,000 organizations and individuals. Many excellent suggestions emerged from these extensive community consultations.
First, that there was a need for more public awareness of the role and importance of international development co-operation and of Canada's international aid program. The debate we are having today in the House should help in this regard. It reminds us that the international aid program is firmly rooted in our sense of social justice and humanity. It reminds us that it is inherently good; good for strengthening democracy and socialist ability for promoting peace. It reminds us that Canadian interests are also served by measures that serve our global interdependence.
Second, we also heard from consultation participants the call for funding increases that would put Canada on track toward the 0.7% target, 0.7% of the gross domestic product, as raised in the motion before us.
Let me assure colleagues and all Canadians that the government remains fully committed to working toward this objective as our fiscal position permits. The 2000 budget provided an additional $435 million to official development assistance and, in the last Speech from the Throne, we committed to further increases.
Third, we also heard the need for better co-ordination of development initiatives across the international community of donors and recipients and for better ways to co-operate with our partners so that we are not duplicating the efforts of others.
Our support for the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is one good example. Our strategic response has taken into account the priorities expressed by our partners on the ground. We can take pride that Canada was one of the first countries to respond to the UN appeal for assistance to meet the plight of Afghan refugees, committing a total of $16 million in humanitarian assistance in the past month alone.
Through CIDA, the Government of Canada has provided in the last decade almost $160 million to help alleviate the suffering of refugees and internally displaced persons affected by two decades of conflict and three years of devastating drought in that part of the world. Our current support is directed to various UN agencies and humanitarian organizations that are working to provide the basic necessities of life, food, shelter and health care, to the Afghan refugees and others who are victims of this crisis. The funds are also being used to help support various peace building initiatives in the region. We are conscious of the impact of the situation across south and central Asia and are particularly mindful of the pressure on Pakistan which is providing safe haven for millions of Afghan refugees.
The government acted to relieve some of the burden on Pakistan by converting up to $447 million of its debt owed to CIDA. This means that instead of making debt payments, Pakistan will be able to put the money into education and other social programs.
The government has recently focused on four key social development priorities: health and nutrition, basic education, HIV and AIDS, and child protection. These are strategic investments and by nature investing in the future.
Children as beneficiaries have a right to know, to think, to aspire and to hope. Minimum levels of education and health are crucial to sustainable development. We believe that education, among other things, is the development of ideals.
Good social policy begets good economic policy, especially in today's globalized economy. Smaller nations need assistance so they may develop the skills required to take part in multilateral trade agreements and benefit from them. In turn they develop strong and stable democracies.
Last week in Shanghai, China, on the occasion of the meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC group, Canada announced that it would earmark $9 million toward helping to improve the growth prospects of developing economies in southeast Asia and to help build the capacity of developing countries to integrate into the global economy and thereby help generate wealth for the social well-being of their people.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a recent Nobel prize recipient, said that the best hope for least developed countries and, indeed, for the developing world in general, lies in a new round of global, multilateral trade negotiations.
May it please the House to know that the APEC economies during their recently concluded ministerial and leaders meetings in Shanghai unanimously echoed the same sentiment.
Our international aid policy is an integral part of our foreign policy objectives as set out in the document “Canada in the World”. We shall conquer the great enemies of poverty and neglect in our own Canadian way that has defined the greatness of Canada. We will provide measures to a stricken people in the midst of a stricken nation in peace or in war. We will continue to wave the bountiful flag of Canada so that the gates of opportunity and peace shall be open to all peoples of the world.
We support the motion.