In my mind, there has never been a more critical moment than now to act for our brothers and sisters in need.
If the silly phrase “Happy Wife Happy Life” means anything, then on the grand scale of the planet, “Happy Country” should translate to “World Peace,” but there are countries or pockets within countries that simply need a leg up to escape the poverty trap, and they cannot do so without the support of those countries that are well established.
With the “America First” rhetoric down south, it is pretty clear that we need to set the example and truly live up to the phrase: “We’re Back,” otherwise, that just becomes political dribble as well.
We must encourage our leaders to follow in the footsteps of Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg and England, to name a few, who have reached or even surpassed the goal of dedicating 0.7 per cent of gross national product to Overseas Development Aid.
We need a clearly-marked schedule for achieving that goal.
What are we waiting for? Does the Trudeau government really want to end up with the worst commitment to development of any Canadian government in the last half-century?
Connie Lebeau, Victoria