December 9, 2014 – Corruption in all its forms robs citizens of their rights, undermines the rule of law and reduces economic growth. It deprives the poor of the economic opportunities, government services and financial resources they need to improve the well-being of their families. If left unaddressed, it can seriously harm the future prosperity of any nation.
That is why the Harper Government signed on to the International Aid Transparency Initiative: to improve transparency and accountability for how Canada’s development assistance is spent. By meeting this international standard, our government has made information about project spending easier to find by making data available in simple formats that transparently show what the projects are doing and what results are being achieved. Through mutual accountability frameworks, Canada is working with partner countries to bring greater transparency to our bilateral assistance relationships.
Canada demonstrates active leadership in fighting corruption. Canada is a signatory to all major international anti-corruption agreements, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. In a global analysis of 175 countries, Canada was scored in the top 10 by Transparency International for having one of the cleanest public sectors in the world. We are proud of this reputation and are pleased to share our best practices.
Canada plays an active role in reducing corruption in developing countries by supporting ombudspersons and auditors that report directly to parliaments and legislatures to improve transparency and accountability for government spending; by supporting legal task forces to end impunity for trans-national narcotic cartels; and in resource-rich countries by promoting the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative to improve governance through the full disclosure of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. Canada also supports efforts to strengthen the enabling environment for civil society to hold their governments to account and to promote human rights.
We have made progress in many countries, but there is still much work to be done. Without addressing the problem of corruption, no nation can claim to have a developed economy and no lasting solution to poverty can be found.
On International Anti-Corruption Day, let us reapply ourselves to the tasks of eliminating corruption, and of improving transparency and accountability both economically and politically, so that together we can increase freedom and democracy to the benefit of all people.
Christian Paradis
Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
