Conservatives silent on foreign aid cuts applying to Afghanistan

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OTTAWA — As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promises to cut foreign aid that he says is flowing to “dictators and terrorists,” his office is silent as to whether that includes assistance to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

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For more than a year, Poilievre has taken aim at Canada’s foreign aid spending when it comes to questions of how he would finance defence expenditures under a Conservative government should he win the next election.

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But in speeches Poilievre delivers, such as the major one he gave to attendees at his “Canada First” rally last weekend, he only named two programs, both of which he has named before.

First, he committed to slash money flowing to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as had been the case under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, who did so amid allegations of its ties to Hamas, which Canada has designed as a terrorist entity.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau restored its funding in 2016.

Canada was among countries which decided to freeze funds after allegations from Israel emerged that some of its employees were involved in the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks against southern Israel in October 2023.

The pause never affected the $25 million Canada was due to send the UN agency last spring, which was part of the regular funding it had pledged. The Liberals say it has sent the agency $90 million since 2019 and in 2023 promised $100 million more over the next four years.

The Liberals ultimately reversed any freeze, saying it had reviewed an interim report into Israel’s allegations and expressed confidence accountability mechanisms had been strengthened.

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The other program Poilievre points to is the Asian Infrastructure Bank, which Canada joined in 2018.

By 2023 the Liberals announced the government had suspended its ties over concerns it was being controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Canada had deposited around US$995 million, which according to exchange rates at the time, would amount to US$1.35 billion.

Canada’s portfolio of foreign aid spending is reported annually to Parliament and the list of countries and organizations that benefit last accessible for 2022-23. Over that time, Canada spent $15.5 billion on foreign aid.

According to a statistical breakdown, African countries make up ten of the top 20 countries receiving the most Canadian international assistance.

Topping that list is Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Canada has committed billions to Ukraine in terms of loans as well as millions in economic, development and humanitarian assistance, which a spokesman for Poilievre clarified would not be cut.

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“No,” Sebastian Skamski said when asked if the assistance money would be touched.

“Pierre Poilievre will cut the billions of Canadian tax dollars the Trudeau-Carney Liberals give to dictators, terrorists, and global bureaucracies.”

It was not something a major advocate for the Ukrainian-Canadian had been worried about.

“We do not believe the cuts of which he speaks would apply to Ukraine — a democracy bravely fighting in defence of the freedom, not only of Ukraine, but of all Europe,” said CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn, who said they have not discussed Poilievre’s plan to cut foreign aid with his office.

“We look forward to hearing more from Leader Poilievre regarding the Conservative Party’s Ukraine policy and priorities,” he said.

Michalchyshyn added the organization “strongly supports” more spending on Canada’s military as well as “meeting — and exceeding — our NATO defence spending obligations.”

Poilievre’s office was silent when repeatedly asked about Canada’s aid to Afghanistan, which fell to the Taliban in August 2021. Since then, the rights of women and girls have been rolled back and a humanitarian crisis set in.

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In 2022-23, Global Affairs Canada reported sending around $130 million in aid to Afghanistan.

After the Taliban took control, Canadian aid organizations spent months struggling to provide help, given that the Taliban is a listed terrorist entity, meaning groups feared facing criminal punishment under Canada’s anti-terrorism laws.

Organizations told members of Parliament those on the ground could not pay a driver to deliver food or supplies because of tax that would be paid to the Taliban.

The Liberals ultimately amended the Criminal Code in 2023 to allow for aid to be delivered, which passed the House of Commons with all party support, including the Conservatives.

By December 2023, government officials discussed the need to cut back on some of the millions flowing in aid to Afghanistan, according to a report by National Post. Officials said Canada’s strategic priorities had changed and other political and financial pressures were emerging.

They noted Canada had provided $367 million in aid to Afghanistan in the first three years since it fell to the Taliban.

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“Foreign aid from Canada to places like Afghanistan is life-saving for women and girls,” former senator Ratna Omidvar, who had been one of Parliament’s most vocal proponents of Canada getting aid into the country, said in a statement to National Post.

“Canada has the guard rails in place — like the U.S and other donor countries — to ensure that aid does not fall into the hands of corrupt governments.”

Kate Higgins, the CEO of Cooperation Canada, which represents more than 100 Canadian organizations delivering humanitarian and development assistance, pointed to existing laws and said groups already vet and exercise caution when it comes to choosing which partners to work with, given what she called a “complicated geopolitical context.”

“Foreign aid spending is one of the most scrutinized areas of public spending,” she said in an interview.

“Canadians can go on the Canadian government website and track and see Canadian foreign aid projects, what they’re working on, what they focus on, which geography they’re operating in.”

Higgins said they always open to working with governments and others to improve how international assistance is delivered.

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“Are there things that we could do better in foreign aid? Are there ways that we could partake and increase efficiencies in international assistance? Absolutely.”

She said “the abrupt and immediate way” U.S. President Donald Trump’s froze foreign aid upon taking office has been devastating for international communities that relied upon it.

Given that Canadian organizations work with many groups that received U.S. funding to deliver aid, the decision “will have ripple effects for Canadian international assistance programming,” she said.

Shanti Cosentino, a spokeswoman for International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen warned Poilievre’s promised foreign aid cuts would jeopardize “critical initiatives,” saying his implication that the money flows to “dictators, terrorists and global bureaucracies “is categorically incorrect and reckless.”

Poilievre is hardly the first Canadian Conservative to look at foreign aid cuts.

Harper targeted foreign aid as a way to reign in spending to balance the budget. In the 2019, then Conservative leader Andrew Scheer campaigned on a promise to cut it by 25 per cent.

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Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who served as party leader from 2020 until early 2022, vowed not to touch that budget.

–With files from The Canadian Press

National Post

staylor@postmedia.com

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