Canada is Committed to Building a New Aid Relationship

A Canadian statement for the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness

For the international community, 2008 is an important year in many regards. We are at the mid-point on the timeline for both the Millennium Development Goals and the Paris Declaration. Collectively, we have made some important progress but much remains to be done if we are to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves.

We recognize the need not only to renew our commitment, but also to re-invigorate our actions. Expressions of commitment alone will not achieve results. Results require action. And success requires all development partners to do their part. Rest assured that the Government of Canada will do its part.

The Canadian government's development priority is to reduce global poverty. Accountability and the effectiveness of aid will be a hallmark of the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) agenda. Our approach will see strengthened effectiveness of our aid program through more focus, efficiency, and targeted results. As part of the international community, we cannot alone ensure greater focus and effectiveness. We must improve the dialogue among all parties, including civil society and non-DAC providers of assistance, to achieve increased cohesion and coordination. For this reason, Canada is proud to have joined more than 100 other donors and partner countries in endorsing the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005. Together, the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action give all of us an opportunity to improve our collective efforts.

Our experience in fragile states demonstrates how donor alignment and harmonization in support of a development agenda, owned by the local government and the people, can produce tangible results. One plan, the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, is supported by a coordinated funding mechanism, the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. It provides the basis for donors to align aid funding with Afghans' own priorities and to coordinate capacity development efforts based on the country's identified needs. It also allows donors to work collectively through common arrangements, joint missions and shared analytic work. This common approach is not unique to Afghanistan. Canada has worked with governments, other donors and civil society organizations in Tanzania, Ghana, and Vietnam. Many other partners are joining these initiatives to fully develop the potential this approach presents for poverty reduction.

Sound governance, including democratic ownership of development plans and priorities, is a key factor for poverty reduction and long-term sustainable results. A government's effectiveness is strengthened when it is accountable, promotes the rule of law, and respects fundamental human rights. By engaging citizens, through representative institutions, civil society, the media, and the private sector, the long-term sustainability of the results can be achieved. Canada will continue to strongly support partner efforts to strengthen democratic governance and ownership.

• Canada is committed to delivering development in close cooperation with partner-country governments and their people. The Paris Declaration and the DAC Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations will guide our engagement. Canada fully supports the Accra Agenda for Action call for integrated peace and state-building objectives with poverty reduction goals. It clearly recognises that security and development are interdependent.
• We will work to strengthen sound governance by focusing on effective, transparent and accountable country systems. Our approach will include increased coordination of support for capacity development at country level, including that of local civil society organizations and the private sector.
• Canada will continue to be a leading voice for integrating gender equality and environmental considerations into strategies and programs.

As part of the international community, Canada calls on all development actors to join its efforts for greater aid effectiveness. To accelerate progress on development goals, all need to be part of the discussion. Our partnerships must be more coordinated and inclusive. They must harness the contribution of all development partners, including non-DAC providers of assistance and civil society organizations. By supporting aid that is more cohesive, effective and accountable, we will see development results that are sustainable. In this complex landscape, we must combine our efforts in a way that maximizes resources, reduces overlaps and avoids distorting priorities.

• Canada supports the findings and recommendations of the Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness. As we build a joint effectiveness agenda beyond Accra, there is an extraordinary opportunity to recognize and support civil society organizations as full partners in development. Their efforts complement those of government and the private sector. Canada strongly supports positive measures by civil society to strengthen their own effectiveness. Civil society's contribution is fundamental to the achievement of development results, good governance and accountability. Our partners' commitment to those in poverty around the world is based on a strong belief that all people should be assisted in their move from dependence to self-reliance.
• Growing opportunities exist for donors to coordinate and streamline their activities, to reduce duplication and improve efficiencies, to align with country strategies, and reinforce mutual accountability. Such efforts include Joint Assistance Strategies, programme-based approaches, and common evaluations and assessments, such as the public expenditure and financial accountability and procurement assessment frameworks.
• In line with its desire for more efficient division of labour, Canada will focus its traditional bilateral aid and aim to be among the largest five donors in the majority of core countries of interest. CIDA will enhance its field presence and enable it to respond more quickly to local conditions. This will strengthen Canada's ability to act in concert with other donors and recipient governments.

Accountability is at the core of all that we do as governments. In the context of international development, accountability is owed to both our citizens and to those in partner countries. Strengthening public expenditure management systems, and monitoring and evaluation functions must help inform policy-making and budget decisions, as well as track progress and the results achieved.

• Canada recognizes the significance of improving the predictability of aid as the basis for partners to plan, manage their programs effectively, and to produce results. As such, Canada will take concrete steps to improve transparency of multi-year country program allocations.
• Canada will improve accountability by linking commitments to aid effectiveness to staff performance contracts, and will continue to pursue efforts with its multilateral, private sector and civil society partners to enhance aid effectiveness as well.

We must seize the potential and the opportunity provided through the Accra Agenda for Action, to strengthen the effectiveness of aid and deliver results that clearly improve the lives of citizens of partner countries. Our credibility as a community depends on it. A renewed commitment, an improved basis for real, capable country ownership, and an expanded partnership that includes civil society and non-DAC providers of assistance will allow us to achieve broader development effectiveness.

Our ability to make a real difference in poverty reduction depends on it.