Ottawa, Ontario March 22, 2005 (CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY) It is a pleasure to be here with you today. As some of you may recall, I had the opportunity to speak with you about a year ago. It was a very memorable event for me because it was one of the first major speeches I gave after being appointed Minister of International Cooperation. It is hard for me to believe that only a year has passed. When the Prime Minister asked me to join the cabinet, former ministers warned me that a year in cabinet would feel like a decade as an MP. At the time, I assumed that they were speaking about how much I would learn. But now I wonder if they meant that one actually ages on a ten-to-one ratio. I will leave that to you to judge. A year ago, I spoke to you about the urgency of the global fight against poverty. I argued that it was the most important challenge we face. I can assure you that the past twelve months have only deepened my conviction. I have had some opportunity to travel — to Africa, to Asia, and in the Americas. My experiences have reaffirmed that we must redouble our efforts — and by "we" I mean all of us, no matter what country we are from — we must redouble our efforts to reduce the daily, grinding, but frequently silent suffering so many people endure because of a lack of income, because of disease, because of war. Today, I would like to talk to you about the future direction of Canada's development assistance. As you know, this government will soon release its International Policy Statement. It is an integrated approach to international policy. It points the way forward for our diplomatic, defence, development, and trade capabilities. I am not going to pre-empt that document, but I do want to talk about one key aspect that is driving the evolution of our development cooperation program. I want to talk about the importance of focus. Our aid program is currently very dispersed, particularly in our bilateral or country-to-country programs. We provide assistance to 155 countries, more recipient countries than any other donor. Of these, only 18 receive more than $10 million in assistance annually, and almost 90 receive less than $5 million. There is no doubt that this dispersion limits our effectiveness. For one thing, managing many country programs makes it harder for us to develop expertise in any. For another, the proliferation of small-scale programming on the part of donors puts a greater coordination burden on the recipient countries. Even though our aid budget is increasing year after year, in order to maximize the impact of Canada's assistance, we have to invest our money more wisely. I am proposing a two-pronged approach. We are going to focus in key sectors and in key countries. I'll take sectors first. We will focus our efforts in four specific sectors, that is, four distinct areas of programming. In all that we do, promoting gender equality and protecting the environment will remain crosscutting themes. Our priority sectors are good governance, basic education, health, and private sector development. Why these sectors? Each one is important for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which — as we all know — are internationally agreed, quantifiable, and time-bound development targets. Each one of these sectors reflects needs and priorities identified by developing countries themselves. And in each of them, there is potential for Canada to add value. In other words, they reflect Canadian strengths. I must admit, I was reluctant at first to be a new minister imposing what might be seen as an arbitrary direction on CIDA. If I could build on good initiatives already begun, I would do so. And this is what we are doing. The first vital area had to be governance. We all know that poverty reduction requires sound governance structures and processes. And with our federal system, bilingualism, and history of multiculturalism, Canada has some valuable experience it can share. So we are scaling up our governance programming. Some of you may have heard of Canada Corps. It is part of our commitment to an enhanced focus on governance. It is about sending Canadian experts abroad to share skills and experience. The observer mission we sent to Ukraine was a good example of Canada Corps in action. Along with good governance, private sector development — the engine of economic growth — is absolutely key to fostering development that is effective and long lasting. Without the stimulation of the micro and macro economies in developing countries, long-term poverty alleviation will, in my view, elude us. Finally, continuing the basic education and health directions, on which CIDA had been moving, made eminent good sense. Canada has longstanding experience in strengthening accessible health care systems at home and abroad. The health focus was a good base on which to build the HIV/AIDS specialization, which I knew must be engaged in an almost radical manner given the destructive swath of this pandemic in poverty-stricken countries. And in education, Canada has expertise in distance education, teacher training, curriculum development, and the creation of child-friendly, girl-friendly schools. The second part of the new approach is to focus on fewer countries. As I suggested earlier, we are simply trying to do too much in too many places, which limits our effectiveness. So where will CIDA work? Over the next few years, we will shift our country-to-country programming to a core group of about two-dozen development partners. We are choosing these countries based on three clear criteria. The first and most important is poverty. We are going to focus our efforts on those countries experiencing the most acute poverty, generally meaning income levels of less than one thousand dollars (USD) a year. The second criteria is the ability to use aid effectively. Study after study has demonstrated that development dollars are most effective when invested in countries with sound public sector and economic management. This provides the capacity to absorb aid well. In short, countries must demonstrate a commitment to good governance, including an aversion to corruption. They will not have already accomplished all that is required, but they must have started down the road. The third criteria is sufficient Canadian presence to add value. In practice, this means Canada's aid program must be large enough relative to other donors. Small aid programs are not efficient for donors or recipients. It also means that Canada will strengthen its presence through substantial contributions in our priority sectors, in countries where we already have a particularly effective and privileged policy dialogue. We also recognize that Canada's development assistance can be further enhanced where we have historical and people-to-people ties. These are the criteria for our core development partners. That said, it is worth noting that we will continue bilateral programming in a limited number of countries that do not meet all of these criteria. It would be counterproductive to end programming in certain countries that are making important economic and political transitions, countries facing acute instability, or failed and failing states. In other countries, Canada will also continue to play a role through our strong support for multilateral organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, and the World Food Programme. We will analyze carefully the effectiveness of multilateral bodies. We know that no one country can do it all, which is why we continue to work in close collaboration with our many partners. Abroad, that means other donor countries, and developing country governments and civil societies. At home, that means Canadian non-governmental organizations, businesses, and educational institutions. Canadian organizations and individuals do tremendous good in the world, and we will continue to support this work. The International Policy Statement provides an opportunity to deepen and carry forward our resolve to take a focused and coherent approach to Canada's role in the world. It will solidify an integrated approach to international policy, positioning Canada to meet the challenges of a complex global environment and providing a blueprint for action to strengthen our diplomatic, development, defence, and trade capabilities. To achieve world-class development cooperation, Canada needs a world-class development cooperation agency. We need an aid delivery system that is focused, flexible, transparent, and accountable. I believe Canada has the capacity and the proven expertise and experience to take its rightful place among the best in the world. Together, we will build a better world for all.
