Inside the feds’ most questionable international projects

If you've ever scrolled through the international assistance projects Global Affairs Canada has created, you'll find a lot of money being spent.Some money may be going to good causes — while some may make you question where the feds are putting Canadian tax dollars. The Western Standard perused the projects and came up with some highlights ranked from least expensive (for taxpayers) to most expensive, in a list of questionable Canadian global affairs projects, all labelled as currently operational..8. The Resilience of Francophone LGBTQI+ Movement on North Africa project, coming in last place, as the least expensive, but equally dubious as all the others, has funding of $1,440,308.The title is a bit self-explanatory, but here's some context any how:The project aims to "strengthen the resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) rights movements in North Africa, specifically in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia."The feds' objective is to improve availability of "financial and technical resources" for LGBTQ activists in North Africa by setting up different initiatives..7. The Strengthening political capacities for gender-responsive governance in the Caribbean project is worth $2,500,000.This project involves 14 different Caribbean states.It aims to help women with "political, structural and legislative barriers to gender equality and women’s empowerment, which are both essential to poverty reduction and sustainable development in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries."The feds hope to achieve "increased and more meaningful participation of women in all their diversity in political leadership and decision-making processes in the Caribbean."As well as "increased gender sensitive actions" to address climate action..6. The confronting militarism and masculinities: building alliances, analysis and advocacy project, is worth $4,697,772.This project includes 16 different developing countries, where the goal is "sustainable feminist peace."The feds say it's for "women peace activists and men allies" to have a "critical space for solidarity dialogues.""The outcomes from the research and dialogues work to inform advocacy in human rights bodies, the disarmament fora, and Women Peace and Security debates to strengthen international gender conflict analysis and the Women Peace and Security Agenda.".5. The sustainability and innovation in Livestock project, which sounds pretty harmless, is worth $5,000,000.The project is meant for Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico and Puerto Rico, to "empower cattle ranching families, especially women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, to adapt to climate challenges and promote sustainability and inclusivity."Among its goals are to conduct climate assessments and influence countries' policymaking.The feds claim they'd like to see women become more involved in climate decisions as a result..4. The community resilience through locally led inclusive adaptation project, is spending $10,000,000 of taxpayer dollars. All of the money goes to Bangladesh, the feds' goal is to develop solutions and strengthen "their resilience to the impacts of climate change."They also want to make sure women are involved, stating in one line they'd like to ensure "conducting household-based training focused on gender-responsive climate-adaptive livelihood options."3. The climate change action for gender sensitive resilience project, on which the feds are spending $15,500,000..Another climate action project in over 10 Caribbean countries are receiving money from, which focuses on "general environmental protection," aka, climate change.The feds wish to push national climate change adaptation plans, for sectors that involve mostly women and girls, like agriculture and tourism.2. The foundation Paul-Gerin Lajoie volunteer project, which costs the feds to spend a whopping $34,202,398.Reserved for seven African countries, where the feds say they're aiming to help people (especially) women and girls, to contribute to environmental sustainability (climate change). "Through the support of 740 volunteer placements, the project not only increases the participation of Canadians in international development and key global issues, but also enhances the performance of 45 partners in developing countries in implementing more inclusive, innovative, and environmentally sustainable development initiatives that advance gender equality," it says..1. The Canadian climate and nature fund for the private sector in Asia project, coming in first place for spending a huge amount of taxpayer money, at $350,000,000.The project is intended to be spent on three developing Asian countries, as well as two regions on the continent.It is a partnership between the feds and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which hopes to avoid greenhouse gas emissions in the developing countries by 40 million tonnes by building:"Climate-resilient economies by using blended finance to mobilize private sector investments in climate mitigation and adaptation projects as well as nature-based solutions that advance gender equality in the region."The feds' expected results include increased use of renewable energy by businesses, particularly for women.

Inside the feds’ most questionable international projects

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