Budget 2025: Ottawa to slide foreign aid spending to epidemic levels – nationally
The Carney government says the cut in foreign exchange spending is in line with Canada’s previous aid allocation – without specifying the size of this year’s aid budget.
Tuesday’s budget announced $2.7 billion in cuts over four years, which will affect things like global health projects. Ottawa is also withdrawing some support for a world-renowned research institute.
“There will be a reduction in funding for the creation of the World Health Organization, where Canada’s contribution has grown disproportionately relative to other similar economies,” the budget document said.
It is not yet clear where the aid cuts will come. The budget talks of “Subvering new instruments, while focusing on the support of countries that need it the most” and abandoning existing agreements with certain countries.
The budget also says Canada will cut funding to “some international financial institutions” while finding ways “Canada’s contributions can be recovered.”
Canada spent $6 billion in aid in the fiscal year forecast for March 2024, and $2.6 billion in foreign financial aid as a loan to Ukraine. Total spending on all aid-related files – including support for refugees in Canada and development grants – reached $12.3 billion in the last reported fiscal year.
Ottawa increased its development and human resources during the pandemic, in part to reverse the increased progress in combating major diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis as governments turned their attention to Covil-19.
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Developing countries are still grappling with a debt crisis fueled by high interest rates that bailed out rich governments that spent heavily during the pandemic. They are also faced with an increase in the number and intensity of natural disasters due to climate change.
Under the banner of “Trade Finance,” the government is sending $138 million to Canada’s current Global Canata fund – primarily from the capital allocation infrastructure to create the capital infrastructure of Ukraine.
The government says the reconstruction of Ukraine can boost Canadian industry “in almost all sectors and engineering as well as in agriculture food, health care and technology.”
The Center for International Research will see deep cuts, starting with $11.4 million in the fiscal year that begins in April, an increase of $23.5 million over five years.
Parliament allocated $159.4 million to the IDRC for the current fiscal year.
The cuts come just days after some days after Randeep Sarai, the secretary of state for international development, suggested the agency was underfunded.
In the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 28, Leaberal MP Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, asked Sarayi about the IdRC money in this money.
Oliphant called the IDRC “an outstanding, world-class institution, providing research to the best of the world.”
He said the agency’s research leads to projects that prevent costly problems. Sarai agreed.
“I call it our secret weapon. I think idrc is one of the best currencies in Canada,” said Sarai. He gave the example of an agency that helped create “climate-friendly potatoes in the Philippines,” which helped the rural poor feed their children and send them to school.
“It will continue to maintain, I think, the necessary support. He is one of the famous Canadian institutions,” It is confirmed that Sarayi.
Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to the G20 summit in Johannesburg later this month. South Africa’s government is expected to clamp down on spending and borrowing to deal with what it called this week an “imbalance emergency” that is plaguing the economy.
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