Minister Freeland, our word must be our bond

The federal government promised to increase our investments in foreign aid every year until 2030. While the government made significant global health investments during the pandemic, we need to make sure they keep going.

The Finance Minister is signaling that we cannot expect new funding for any portfolio. Our friends around the world don’t have the resources to tighten their belts. They need us to keep our promises.

The global community faces increasing pressures from extreme poverty, surges in preventable diseases, new and growing conflicts, as well as climate change and severe natural disasters.

These converging crises means the current international development budget cannot handle this pressure. We need a significant investment to keep our promises and address the new challenges.

We don’t want to backslide further on the fight to end extreme poverty. We don’t want to retreat in the fight for gender equality. We don’t want to pull a punch in our struggle for ending preventable diseases. 

That’s why we want Canada to step up. If we do, we can meet the challenges facing the global community. A promise made should be a promise kept. Canada committed to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030, as well as address climate change.

These are the pledges that Chrystia Freeland must champion as the Minister of Finance.