The following statement is from CARE Canada President and CEO Gillian Barth:
Much of the discussion leading up to Budget 2019 has focused on how the government’s fiscal plan will respond to concerns of the millennial generation.
Millennials are worried about housing and affordability, and we support the Government of Canada’s efforts to respond. Significant new funding to support Canadian women’s rights organizations is also important, as they are critical agents in overcoming gender inequality.
At the same time, we know Canadians want their country to be a positive force in tackling leading global challenges.
Budget 2019 presented an opportunity to signal a shift towards the kind of sustained, and predictable, long-term international assistance funding needed to bring about progress on gender inequality and help communities adapt to the threat of climate change.
CARE Canada welcomes Budget 2019’s commitment to renew Canada’s Middle East Strategy for two years. Properly invested, new funding of $250 million per year for 2019-20 and 2020-21 will help promote stability while protecting women and girls’ health and rights in parts of the world where they are furthest behind.
This commitment notwithstanding, Budget 2019’s modest addition of $100 million to the International Assistance Envelope in 2023-24, is not commensurate with what is needed to achieve Canada’s ambitious Feminist International Assistance Policy.
Moreover, we are concerned that Budget 2019 does not reflect Canada’s Paris commitments to contribute its fair share to international climate finance.
The 2020 deadline for developed countries to jointly mobilize $100 billion per year in climate finance for developing countries is drawing near. We look forward to the Canadian government articulating how it plans to help the world’s poorest communities withstand the real and present threat of climate change.
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Contact:
Darcy KnollCommunications Specialist | CARE Canada
darcy.knoll@care.ca | 613-228-5641