Canadian Aid
Blessing or Burden?

Publisher:  Latin American Working Group, Canada
Year Published:  1977
Pages:  13pp   Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX421

This article takes the position that political and economic reasons rather than humanitarian, charitable concerns for the poor were and still are the basis and motivation for Canadian government aid to undeveloped countries.

Abstract: 
This article takes the position that political and economic reasons rather than humanitarian, charitable concerns for the poor were and still are the basis and motivation for Canadian government aid to undeveloped countries.

It traces the historical stages of Canada's technical and economic aid programs, from World War II until 1968, when the External Aid Office of the Department of External Affairs was converted into the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). It then proceeds to describe the structure of CIDA, distinguishing between the bilateral, multilateral and special programs. The latter include the funding of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and encouraging Canadian businesses to set up subsidiaries in developing countries. Also, under special programs is the Ottawa-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC) which simply acts as a "think tank." By contrast, another division of the Special Programs Branch, the Canadain NGOs (Non-Governmental Orgnaizaitons) undergo careful scrutiny by CIDA before, and sometimes during, the development of a project in the Third World.

Section III of the paper critically analyzes through participation in the Columbo Plan of 1950 and through substantial financial aid to the American-initiated Alliance for Progress in Latin American countries in the 1960s. It describes Canada's strategy as one of "quiet imperialism." The article notes, futhermore, that Canadian aid through CIDA is also available to countries desirous of learning how to use force to keep peace. One example cited is the $250,000 grant given to the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC) at the University of Montreal. The writers suggest that most education and a more equal distribution of wealth are closer to the solution of the causes of underdevelopment than are the above methods of fear and repression.

The last section delineates the growth of business pressure from CIDA's Business and Industry Division to maximize the value of every aid dollar for the Canadian economy rather than for the recipient nation. In the face of third-world countries' spiralling external debts over the past twenty years, the authors conclude that third-world governments must take over the planning of their own economies; the writers also advocate that people in Canada support such governments in their proposals for change in international economic relations.