The next time you go to Tim Hortons for coffee, you might be participating in a Canadian foreign aid project.
The restaurant chain has partnered with the Canadian government on a $41-million project to support 50,000 farm families in Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and Tanzania to grow coffee for export to Canada.
The project, called Coffee for Communities, is half funded by Tim Hortons and half by Ottawa through Global Affairs Canada.
The project is an example of how the federal government is working with Canadian businesses to promote trade and aid, says Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai.
Noting that Canada imports over $1.3-billion worth of coffee each year, Sarai said the partnership benefits poor people in the Global South while assisting a Canadian business — and Canadian coffee drinkers, as well.
“It’s helping to create good, paying agriculture jobs and enabling Canadian coffee consumers to get a steady supply of coffee. It’s doubling the impact of our trade dollars, and that’s our goal,” he said in an interview with Canadian Affairs.
Sarai was responding to criticisms of Canada’s new trade and aid development approach, including by John McKay, the former Liberal member of Parliament who was the main driver behind the passage of the 2008 Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.
That act, commonly known as the Better Aid Bill, requires the Canadian government to prioritize poverty reduction with foreign aid, to consult those who will receive the aid, and align it with international human rights standards.
The government’s new direction has also drawn criticism from Canadian aid organization leaders. In February, numerous leaders told Canadian Affairs they worry that linking aid assistance to Canada’s trade goals could reduce aid effectiveness.
Sarai disagrees. He says projects like the one supported by Tim Hortons can accomplish the goals of aid and trade by improving the livelihoods of people who are poor in the Global South and benefitting Canadians.
“Canada’s priority is still poverty alleviation,” he said. “The only thing we are doing at this challenging time is including trade opportunities where possible. The two are not mutually exclusive.”
Sarai added that this is something countries in the Global South are also interested in.
“They appreciate development programs, but they also want development to help them increase their trading opportunities. It’s a two-way street.”
Global Affairs would only link trade with aid where there are mutually beneficial opportunities, Sarai said. The government is looking for “win-win” situations for Canada and people in poverty who need assistance, “rather than just a win situation,” he added.
Sarai took that message to the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto in March.
At the convention, Sarai announced $8.1-million in funding for three Canadian-led, small-scale mining projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The funds will strengthen economic resilience for people in that region and also promote gender equality, human rights, education and health care, Sarai said.
“By integrating our international development partnerships with mining expertise, Canada is well positioned to generate economic and social benefits for people at home and around the world,” he told the conference.
Whenever Sarai travels in the Global South, he tries to meet Canadians doing business to let them know about this new aid and trade direction.
“They’ve been very happy to see that approach because a lot of times when they want to work in a remote area, clean water is an issue, or they don’t have a skilled workforce. Now we can help them with those issues,” he said.
‘No contradiction’
Ottawa says it is in compliance with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.
In March, former MP John McKay queried whether Ottawa was still in compliance with the act.
“If [Sarai] isn’t doing what the bill says to do, will he raise that with the prime minister?” McKay said in an interview with Canadian Affairs.
McKay likened Ottawa’s new direction on development aid to a practice known as “tied aid.” That is when Canada required that food used for humanitarian emergencies be purchased from Canadian farmers.
What is being proposed now by the current government is “a more sophisticated version of tied aid,” McKay said, adding “it was not a good policy … I hoped we had learned from our mistake.”
In a statement, Global Affairs spokesperson Alexandre Fournier said Canada’s official development assistance continues to meet the act’s statutory requirements by continuing to focus on reducing poverty.
“Canada’s evolving approach to economic partnerships in our official development assistance does not replace or undermine poverty reduction objectives, nor does it conflict with the Act,” he said.
“[I]t reflects how development is changing globally by emphasizing sustainable growth, local ownership, and resilience,” Fournier added.
It also is a response to what partner countries are asking for to build stronger, more inclusive economies, he said.
“There is no contradiction between supporting poverty reduction abroad and advancing Canada’s long-term economic resilience and global interests,” the statement said.
“Canada will continue to deliver official development assistance that is evidence-based, partner-driven, and fully aligned with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act.”
