Beth Lorimer: Letter to the Editor
KAIROS’ Beth Lorimer pushes back against the claim, raised in a Globe and Mail op-ed, that Canada’s foreign aid is to blame for slow progress on sustainable development.
In her letter in today’s Globe and Mail, Beth highlights what really holds back the Global South: historic economic exploitation, crippling sovereign debt, and a global financial system that forces countries to spend more on interest payments than on health care, education and climate resilience.
Here is Beth Lorimer’s letter:
Canada’s international assistance should not be blamed for slow progress on sustainable development.
This view of history ignores the economic exploitation and debt experienced by much of the Global South, resulting in a world where nearly half the population lives in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education. The global financial system mostly diverts scarce public funds toward debt servicing instead of schools, hospitals and climate resilience. Aid does not hinder self-reliance – structural debt and market conditions do.
Cutting international assistance while ignoring these forces delivers a double blow to the autonomy of low-income countries. Instead, Canada should champion debt cancellation, fairer lending rules and reforms to a financial architecture that traps countries in perpetual repayment.
At the same time, Canada should strengthen support for local partners, especially women’s organizations, that are best equipped to advance independent, sustainable and inclusive development.
Beth Lorimer Kairos Canada, Ottawa
