Do more with less foreign aid, Morneau urges development agencies
OTTAWA — Canada can do more with less foreign aid spending, says Finance Minister Bill Morneau, and that includes relying on a new profit-driven financial lending institution to help fight poverty in poor countries.
Morneau’s recent federal budget drew widespread criticism from international development and anti-poverty organizations because it did not contain an increase in foreign aid.
But in a post-budget interview with The Canadian Press, Morneau made no apologies for the lack of new spending.
Instead, Morneau is touting a new anti-poverty tool — a so-called development finance institution, which will lend money to private companies to help them pay for projects to reduce poverty in the developing world.