OTTAWA — Quotes about Canada's new, feminist foreign aid policy announced Friday:
"Focusing Canada’s international assistance on the full empowerment of women and girls is the most effective way for our international assistance to make a difference in the world. Sustainable development, peace and growth that works for everyone are not possible unless women and girls are valued and empowered." — International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.
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"We're pleased to see Canada take the lead towards a global culture shift to empower women and girls. This new feminist international assistance policy provides us with a critical opportunity to advance the empowerment and well-being of a significant segment of the world's population that is at risk of being left out of global progress: 1.1 billion girls." — David Morley, president and CEO, UNICEF Canada.
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"Empowering women and girls is in Canada's best interest and ensuring equal opportunity is much more than a bold commitment to feminism. It's about basic human rights and basic common sense." — Michael Messenger, president, World Vision Canada.
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"The juxtaposition of a recommended 70 per cent increase to the defence budget with a recommended zero per cent increase to the development budget is simply stunning." — Stuart Hickox, Canada director of anti-poverty group One, comparing Canada's defence and assistance spending plans.
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"This is a game-changer. From Syria and Yemen to Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, it is the grassroots women's groups that are doing the heavy lifting to help communities respond to crisis, build peace and bring about gender equality." — Leymah Gbowee of the Nobel Women's Initiative.
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"That there has been no increase in the international assistance envelope or even a plan for an increase is concerning." — Cicely McWilliam, policy director for Save the Children Canada.
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"Minister Bibeau's leadership is bold and courageous and it marks an important shift in Canadian foreign policy. We look forward to working closely with her office to ensure this new model reaches those women's rights organizations quickly and effectively-and that the funding's impact is maximized." — Jess Tomlin, president and CEO, The Match International Women's Fund.
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"Improving gender equality and women's rights takes much more than bold words and good intentions. It will require hard work to push this agenda through." — Jacquelyn Wright, vice-president of International Programs at CARE Canada."
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"They're just using this as branding, and it's just trying to look good because there's no new money behind this." — New Democrat MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau.
The Canadian Press
