Foreign Aid Issues (Part 1)

SACPA Thursday, October 20, 2005 Development... Disasters...What Should Canada''s Role Be? Earthquakes in Pakistan, mud slides in Guatemala, drought in southern Africa: how can Canada respond to major disasters and on-going development needs with limited funds and extravagant needs? Since 1968, most of Canada''s Official Development Assistance has been managed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). What is the role of government, and specifically CIDA, in responding to natural disasters and international crises? Why is the Canadian government involved? How is it involved? And what are the priorities and implications of the International Policy Statement, released in April 2005, on CIDA''s program? What can we, as Canadians, do? Speaker: Ruth Shapiro. The Director of the CIDA Prairies Regional Office, Ruth Shapiro has been with CIDA since 1983, previously serving as Director of the Public Participation Program, the Anglophone NGO Program and as Counsellor Development in Tanzania. The Prairies regional office, responsible for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, is one of three regional offices in Canada. The others are in Vancouver and the Atlantic. The goal of these offices is to represent CIDA outside the central core of Canada, to ensure that Canadians are aware of international development issues, know what opportunities there may be to participate in international development activities and can learn how to get involved. Please visit http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/index-e.htm for additional information.

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