Humanist Cafe Wed., Sept. 2, 2015 : Canadian Foreign Aid

Foreign aid in Canada is not what it used to be.  What has changed?  Neil Mussell, a 37 year employee of CEDA (Canadian Economic Development Agency) will help us to get started thinking about what Canadian foreign aid was, and what it could be.

Neil would like you to read this brief article:

http://www.globalissues.org/article/35/foreign-aid-development-assistance

Other sites worth looking at:

A good definition, and some background globally:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aid

UN asks Canada to increase foreign aid:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/un-to-ask-canada-to-significantly-increase-foreign-aid-spending/article24634498/

Opinion in the Times Colonist:
http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/canada-should-increase-foreign-aid-commitment-1.2044395

The current Canadian government's plan to re-jig Canada's commitment:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/04/17/aid-harmony-canadian-gov_n_7089450.html
CEDA: http://www.ceda.com/

Questions

Is Canada's foreign aid effective or useful?

Are the government's plans to reform it a good idea?

Why do we need to spend money on foreign aid?

What are the political party election platforms on this issue?

See you there!  Bring a bunch of pals.

www.vsha.ca