“They’re not going to fire everybody in Hull … and give all the projects to the foreign service officers who are already overstretched. At least for the time being, all of these people are going to stay in Hull and keep working,” said University of Ottawa professor Stephen Brown, editor of Struggling for Effectiveness: CIDA and Canadian Foreign Aid. He spoke to The Hill Times from Duisburg, Germany, where he is currently senior fellow at the University of Duisburg-Essen’s Centre for Global Cooperation Research.
Prof. Brown said that foreign service officers at Foreign Affairs and International Trade have too much on their own plates to take on the work of CIDA workers. He said the first changes would likely be at the senior management level, as there would no longer be the title of CIDA president, currently held by Margaret Biggs.
“But for most people, for the time being, things will continue more or less as is,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (Ottawa West-Nepean, Ont.) told reporters on March 22 that CIDA staff would be brought into the Foreign Affairs fold.
“We’ll just take all the folks who work at CIDA and they’ll be integrated into the department so we only have one team that deals with Africa, that deals with diplomacy and that deals with development,” he said.
When asked about cuts to staff or programs, CIDA would only state that the merger was not about saving money.
According to CIDA’s 2013-2014 report on plans and priorities, its budget for this year is $3.3-billion. It will decline to $3.1-billion by 2015-2016.
The newly-named Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development “will continue to serve the same functions as those of CIDA and DFAIT. Poverty alleviation through development assistance and the provision of humanitarian assistance in times of crisis are a tangible expression of Canadian values, which the government will continue to advance on the international stage,” the government wrote in the budget on page 240, released March 21.
The announcement was made in the chapter, called “Supporting Families and Communities,” and under the subhead, “Maximizing Opportunities for International Synergies.”
“The government will amalgamate the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and CIDA. In addition to maintaining a separate ministerial position, this government will, for the first time, enshrine in law the important roles and responsibilities of the minister for development and humanitarian assistance.
Still, staff at the development agency are worried, said Doug Marshall, president of the Union of National Employees, which represents about 1,000 of CIDA’s over 1,600 employees.
“This is certainly an employee group that is very nervous and very concerned, and for good reason,” he said.
Mr. Marshall said 10 per cent of his members at CIDA have lost their jobs, and the effects of the 2012 budget are still being felt.
In last year’s budget, CIDA’s funds were cut by $319.2-million. More than 700 people were told their jobs could be cut, with about 300 expected to disappear.
Morale is at “rock bottom,” he said.
“You bet that people are anxious and worried about what’s going to happen, so morale is very low even relative to other departments,” he added.
He planned to meet with the aid agency’s senior human resources people this week to get more details about what’s in store for the organization.
“Right now, the information we’re getting, and our members are getting from the department, is very limited. They’re saying that they really don’t know exactly how the merger is going to unfold,” he said.
Civil Circles asked a number of detailed questions to CIDA regarding the details of the merger, including whether a timeline had been made for the move, whether employees would be re-located, how aid decisions and administration would work in the new department, and whether there would continue to be a dedicated deputy minister for development.
CIDA spokesperson Amy Mills said that it was too early to talk about details.
“Economic Action Plan 2013 simply signaled the start of the amalgamation process and therefore it would be premature to comment at the point,” she stated in an email.
The Privy Council Office will also be involved in the merger, by advising Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the structure of the government, said spokesperson Raymond Rivet.
“When changes are being made to government organizations, PCO works with relevant departments to ensure the necessary authorities are in place for the changes. For example, in the case of budget initiatives, the changes may be set out in legislation to implement budget measures,” said Mr. Rivet in an email.
While PCO would not comment on its role in the CIDA-Foreign Affairs International Trade merger, it’s likely PCO’s machinery of government secretariat, led by assistant secretary Joe Wild, was involved in the decision to merge the two organizations.
“Once the necessary authorities are in place, ministers direct their officials to do what is necessary to implement the change,” added Mr. Rivet.
Mr. Marshall said he hopes his union is consulted as the merger progresses.
“Ministers and deputies are committed to planning and implementing the amalgamation in an open and respectful manner,” said Ms. Mills.
The first step for the merger will be the budget implementation act, expected this spring.
As described in the budget, the amalgamation is meant to take advantage of “linkages between our foreign policy, development and trade objectives.”
“This enhanced alignment of our foreign, development, trade and commercial policies and programs will allow the government to have greater policy coherence on priority issues and will result in greater overall impact of our efforts,” the government stated in the budget.
Prof. Brown said foreign aid has always been politicized, but amalgamating the departments brings it to a new level.
“By placing CIDA within the same ministry as Foreign Affairs and Trade, it really is an acknowledgement, but I think it goes way beyond an acknowledgement. … It is more explicitly and more institutionally subservient to Canadian self-interest,” said Prof. Brown.
Mr. Marshall said that he and others would have to wait and see as details emerge.
“Like anything else, it depends on how it unfolds. It could be that CIDA remains largely untouched and continues on, although there will be a merger of administrative and financial functions. That’s one possibility, another possibility is there could be significant cuts to CIDA programs. We don’t know. There are all sorts of possibilities, and until we see exactly what they are, it’s going to be really difficult to assess,” he said.
There is also little information on new legislation.
Prof. Brown said it could be a good thing for international aid “if it reaffirms the foreign aid budget as being for poverty reduction.”
“If it [protects] the aid budget from basically cash grabs from other units in Foreign Affairs and International Trade. CIDA right now is a bit of a pot of gold, everybody wants to use the money for their own purposes,” he added.
Prof. Brown said that there haven’t been any signals from the government that the legislation would take that course. Its likely purpose is “to make the changes harder to reverse by a future non-Conservative government,” he said.
There have been rumours in the past about scrapping CIDA, noted Mr. Marshall.
“That’s nothing new,” he said, but a merger was not on his members’ radar pre-budget.
Many of CIDA’s problems, from changing priorities, to pet projects, to policy issues, have come from outside the department, without CIDA input, said Prof. Brown.
“One problem we’ve seen get worse in recent years, is that a lot of people have been moved into management positions at CIDA who don’t really understand what development is,” said Prof. Brown.
In recent years, there has been a trend back to more old-fashioned ideas of international aid, like funding high-visibility projects “that you can put a Canadian flag on,” instead of working with a developing country on the priorities it sets, he added.
“International development is a complex, long-term, endeavor, many results take generations to become apparent,” he explained.
The focus on long-term projects that take years, or even decades, puts CIDA at odds with Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which works on shorter timelines, said Prof. Brown.
The two departments’ philosophies are also sometimes at odds, he noted.
CIDA is the only department that serves the interests of developing countries, and not Canadians, he noted. When it’s combined with Foreign Affairs and International Trade, he said he believes that unique priority will “absolutely” be lost in a “mega-department.”
Foreign Affairs and International Trade serves the interests of Canadians, and sometimes more specifically Canadian corporations, he said.
“That is sometimes compatible with, but often at odds with, the interests of developing countries themselves. So the basic philosophy of aid workers and diplomats can be incompatible depending on the situation,” he explained.
The extent of this culture clash will depend on how many CIDA staff remain in the new department, said Prof. Brown. He added that CIDA has seen a number of early retirements of competent staff who departed because they disagree with the direction Canada’s foreign aid is going.
“The new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development will enhance coordination of international assistance with broader Canadian values and objectives, and put development on equal footing with trade and diplomacy,” stated Ms. Mills.
Mr. Marshall said he and his members would have to wait to see how the merger unfolds.
“Basically it’s their show, it’s a government decision. We’ll have to see what happens,” he said.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: JESSICA BRUNO
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