Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, November 09, 2023 -

PARLIAMENT HILL – The Auditor General of Canada in a 2023 investigation found that Global Affairs Canada was unable to show how the approximately $3.5 billion in bilateral development assistance it provides each year to low and middle income countries improved outcomes for women and girls.

There were significant weaknesses in the way Canada’s foreign affairs department managed project information. The department was not effectively monitoring its funded projects or reporting on them. In addition, 24 of the 26 indicators the department had created to monitor its progress against policy goals measured outputs (e.g., number of people reached with nutritional support) rather than outcomes (e.g., improved health status).

Global Affairs Canada also failed to meet two out of three of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy spending commitments. It did not spend 15% of its assistance on gender-targeted projects, nor did it dedicate 50% of bilateral funding for sub‑Saharan Africa.

A report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, presented today by Committee Chairman John Williamson, makes three recommendations to ensure that the Auditor General’s recommendations are adequately addressed, and that Global Affairs Canada provides evidence of this to the Committee through progress reports.