International Development

Is Canada Ready to Deliver a Feminist Development Co-operation Policy?
- June 22, 2017
A policy rethink on Canada’s Agenda 2030 commitments finally emerged as a feminist development manifesto from Canada’s Development Minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau. This feminist framework for Canadian aid is bold in its ambitions — some might call it revolutionary — but …
By John Sinclair
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Analyzing Afghanistan, Part 2: Moving Forward
- May 16, 2017
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko, speaking to CIPS in April, finished his presentation (see part 1 here) by touching on the Afghan government’s over-dependence on aid and inability to pay for and …
By Nipa Banerjee
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Analyzing Afghanistan, Part 1: Lessons from SIGAR
- May 16, 2017
Canada has already invested 15 years, billions of dollars, and over 160 human lives to secure and stabilize the fragile state of Afghanistan. Equivalent efforts, however, have not been made to assess the effectiveness of Canada’s involvement; nor have the …
By Nipa Banerjee
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A Treaty to Protect the Rights of Older People is Long Overdue!
- April 24, 2017
By Gordon Digiacomo, Martine Lagacé, and Caroline Andrew

“Homelessness, malnutrition, unattended chronic diseases, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, unaffordable medicines and treatments and income insecurity are just a few of the most critical human rights issues …
By CIPS
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Harper Lite? The Trudeau Government on Foreign Aid
- April 2, 2017
Shifting from petty and mean to sunny ways, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has done a remarkable job of changing the tone of Canada’s international engagement. When it comes to foreign aid, however, the rhetoric has not been matched by action. …
By Stephen Brown
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Community Engagement in Mining: Sharing Experiences and Best Practices
- January 30, 2017
By Caitlin Sievert and Ainsley Butler

Resource-rich countries are home to 3.5 billion people. When these resources become a source of conflict between communities, corporations, and government, opportunities for community development are often lost.

The immovability of natural resources …
By CIPS
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Women in Politics, Part 2: Moving Forward — Supporting Gender-Inclusive Political Participation
- December 15, 2016
By Althea-Maria Rivas and Gabrielle Bardall

Supporting women’s public participation and political inclusion should be a critical objective of Canada’s contribution to international democracy assistance, particularly in light of the current government’s emphasis on feminism. We must prioritize gender equality …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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Women in Politics, Part 1: Women, Inclusive Political Participation, and Canadian International Development Policy
- December 15, 2016
By Althea-Maria Rivas and Gabrielle Bardall

The Canadian government’s review of the International Development Assistance policy and funding framework is noteworthy in its ambition to promote feminism by applying “a feminist lens … to all of Canada’s international assistance …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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Whatever Happened to the Aid Effectiveness Agenda?
- December 6, 2016
In the early 2000s, Western donors finally recognized that they were partly to blame for foreign aid’s often disappointing results. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, adopted in 2005, was the result of that soul-searching.

The Declaration was based …
By Stephen Brown
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Gender and Peacebuilding: Trudeau Can Do More to Support Gender Rights in Africa
- December 1, 2016
By Dr. Annie Bunting

With the Canadian government about to confirm the deployment of peacekeepers to Africa (likely to Mali), and Prime Minister Trudeau’s recent visit to Liberia and address to the Francophonie on the centrality of the rights of …
By CIPS
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Global nightmare, false alarm — or a first step to a new geopolitical order?
- November 22, 2016
We have had a few days now to calm our jangling nerves. President-elect Trump has already had a civilized conversation with President Obama and “promised” to keep a couple of features from Obamacare. But he is going to be an …
By John Sinclair
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Letter to George Clooney
- September 15, 2016
Dear George,

I’m writing to say that I think you are a great actor! And, of course, handsome beyond belief!! I loved you in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? I laughed my socks off watching you in Burn After Reading…
By Rita Abrahamsen
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