Aiding The World And Canadians

We are a rich nation. We are a nation that claims to want to promote peace and to help others. We work continually with the UN, the Commonwealth, and other multilateral institutions. We provide aid to countries all over the planet. That should make this a natural for us. So why haven't we done it?

There are a few reasons. The first is the presence of a plethora of non-governmental organisations doing similar work. I do not want to denigrate the work these organisations and the people in them do. It is important work and should be recognised. Any attempt at a Canadian aid agency would have to involve a great number of them. What they can accomplish as NGOs is necessarily limited by the very fact they are non-governmental though. There are also disparate aid missions, some sponsored by the government, some not, operating all over the planet. These are also worthy of recognition and any work by a new agency would have to cooperate with them.

The second reason is part of the military mindset. Canada sends our military to keep the peace. Where and when we send them may be necessary, but they are still the military. Since Boutros Boutros Ghali headed the UN there has been increasing talk about peace-making as well as peacekeeping. That may also be necessary and justifiable. What's been missing is talk and action about peace-building. By the time you need to send in men with guns, there has already been a failure. Those men with guns generally do a good job, it is not their failure. It is still a failure though, something that should have been avoided. It is the mentality of putting out fires instead of preventing them. It is a failure on the political and diplomatic levels.

The third reason is the same one that always comes up. Money. Organisations like this cost money to run and that money has to come out of a limited budget. The UN has asked us to live up to our pledge of 0.7 percent of GDP for foreign aid, so this should not be an issue anymore. We said that we would do it and it is time for us to begin living up to our obligations. This is one way we can work towards that goal.

There are some real benefits to Canada having a civilian aid force. It will give young people a chance to earn money while gaining experience. Most of us have experienced the problem of trying to enter the workforce without any experience. The loop of not being able to get a job because you don't have any experience and not being able to get experience because you can't get a job is all too real for many trying to get a start in life.

Rising tuition costs are also a problem that could be offset for some who wish to join such a force. Not only would they have a chance to earn money for university or college, but they would gain skills that could lead to part-time jobs while in school and a civilian corps could guarantee them summer jobs. Unlike the US Peace Corps, any attempt at a Canadian civilian aid agency should not be volunteer work. Members should be paid on a scale commensurate with their skills and duties.

The agency, obviously, would need some highly skilled people to lead missions. These skilled people would ensure that the mission stayed on track and worked towards its goals while acting as mentors to less-skilled Canadians on the mission.

A civilian force would also help to take some of the pressure off Canadian armed forces. While our military did fantastic work domestically during the Winnipeg flood, the Quebec ice storm, the BC forest fires, and countless other domestic disasters, a civilian agency could have supplied several of the same advantages and taken much of the stress off of our already over-stretched military.

The same can be said of many foreign missions. A civilian aid agency could provide many of the humanitarian services that Canadian military forces now deal with as a matter of course, such as access to potable water.

Ideally missions would be UN-approved. This would help to ensure that Canada was acting in the best interests of the international community as a whole while increasing Canada's influence within that community and within the UN. It is important that any such agency avoid becoming a tool, in perception or reality, of first world imperialism in developing countries.

The idea of a civilian agency has been put forth in the context of Civil Military Co-operation, or CIMIC, before, but not as a strictly independent civilian force. CIMIC is a concept meant to address the plethora of agencies likely to be present in any area where aid is needed. It is, unfortunately, largely a military concept though. As a military concept it is meant to use the presence of aid agencies to the best military advantage. Non-governmental organisations have a major problem with that because remaining neutral is one of their chief protections against harm in areas that are treacherous by definition.

It is very necessary that any civilian Canadian aid agency follow the example of the NGOs. Being seen as favouring one political position over another would undermine the mission at best and very likely put aid workers in increased danger of physical harm. While it may be necessary for workers to co-operate with Canadian peace-keepers or other UN forces, under no circumstances should they be sent into areas or given missions where their neutrality is in question.

Whether working in concert with military peace-keeping missions or working on their own in less volatile situations, a Canadian civilian force would be a good way to represent Canada. We have a large and diverse country with citizens familiar with many cultures. Those same citizens have many different skills and areas of expertise. We have some definite technological advantages too.

Imagine a force of Canadians that was able to show up in an African village, provide clean water with a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU); help to plant and harvest crops; build a school, teach the children, and train the adults in any technologies being introduced. They could do all that while learning themselves, building international goodwill, and spreading tolerance.

Imagine the benefits to Haiti and Canada if, instead of just sending men with guns to back up an American military force, Canadian peacekeepers showed up with a group of civilians who were there to help people, no matter who those people were.

Imagine the benefits to Canada in having an organisation that taught skills to Canadians while building a reputation as a fair-minded country that provides assistance peacefully without strings or an imperialistic sub-text.

It is time that Canada began peace-building, actively working to counter the perception in developing countries that developed countries are just there to profit.

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Reverend Blair was raised in Saskatchewan and currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He comes from a long line of social activists and cried on Tommy Douglas before his first birthday. His column appears biweekly on Vive le Canada.