Details missing in Harper speech to UN

Prime Minister Harper promised Canada would increase its funding of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in a speech to the United Nations today but omitted crucial details about how much of an increase it would be. Civil society groups were calling for a 50% increase based on the need. French President Sarcozy announced a 20% increase in France’s contribution to the Global Fund. Harper was also expected to announce a 20% increase based on an earlier draft of his speech sent to Canadian media from the Prime Minister’s Office. But curiously the amounts were missing in the speech he delivered to the UN.

Canada is trying to gain support for a seat on the UN Security Council so the failure to provide details had many other delegates wondering what was going on.

One explanation may be that when France announced a 20% increase on Monday, the Canadian government felt it should do one better but didn’t have time to finalize the decision.  Or perhaps Harper had decided Canada would only give a 10% increase and had to omit this detail as it would have looked bad in comparison with France.

That Mr. Harper came to New York for the MDG Summit and spoke in support of the Millennium Development Goals is a good thing and something that Make Poverty History pressed him to do.

But his government’s announcement in the Federal Budget this spring that the aid budget would be frozen in 2011 at 2010 levels after many years of annual 8% increases makes one question how serious is their commitment is.

The plan of action that is expected to be adopted on Wednesday, will reiterate the importance of all donor countries keeping the promise to increase aid to 0.7% of national income.  Canada is less than half way there.  And if we freeze our aid budget we will start moving away from that goal.