News Releases

Find out what CCIC has to say about the latest issues of importance to international development.

Select one of the categories on the left, or visit our Archives section for past documentation.

CIDA’s funding delays having a negative impact on Canadian organizations and on developing countries

Ottawa - CIDA, which represents the main source of funding for many Canadian civil society organizations (CSOs) involved in international development, is months behind in announcing the results of its last calls for proposals, and it is seriously impacting the sector (December 6, 2011).

Canadian international development platform congratulates CIDA for stride forward on transparency
Ottawa - CCIC welcomes the announcement by CIDA that it has signed on to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), a commitment made by CIDA on the eve of the first day of the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. (November 29, 2011)

Seeking a New Deal between CIDA and Canadian NGO’s
Ottawa - CCIC is calling for a new Cooperation Agreement between CIDA and Canadian NGO's which would set out shared principles and commitments to support each other's work.
(March 21, 2011)

Out of Step with Canadian Values? International Priorities in Budget 2011
Stronger action is needed on Aid and climate change, not military spending.
(March 17, 2011)

Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement continue between Canada and Honduras while the human rights situation deteriorates
Ottawa - International human rights experts and respected representatives of Honduran civil society organizations to appear before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (March 9, 2011).

Open Letter to the Minister of International Cooperation
Open letter to Minister Bev Oda about the new approach of Partnership with Canadians Branch.
(November 26, 2010)

Canada’s next step to increase aid effectiveness agenda falls short
Ottawa — Canada’s new approach to engage Canadians and organizations in international development might be a good thing, but it is the first time most Canadian international development organizations have heard about it. (July 29, 2010)

Government Called on to Be Transparent and Respect Democracy, Freedom of Expression
A new coalition, Voices-Voix, is sounding the alarm that the quality and health of democratic life in Canada is under serious threat. Voices-Voix released today its “Raise Your Voices” Declaration signed by human rights, women’s, labour, environment, student, faith-based and development organizations. (June 17, 2010)

Joint Statement Canada-Colombia Human Rights Deal “Empty”: Civil Society Leaders
Ottawa –The Liberals today closed ranks with the Conservatives in passing legislation that brought two years of vigorous public debate to an end—and finalized a free trade deal alongside a new human rights agreement with Colombia that civil society leaders say lowers the bar on human rights. (June 15, 2010)

CIDA Funding to CCIC Threatened
Canada’s Foreign Aid Community Risks Losing Strong Voice for World’s Poor
CIDA funding to the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC), Canada’s pre-eminent coalition to end global poverty, is in doubt. A critical and well-respected voice for the world’s poor risks being silenced if funding to CCIC is cut off. (June 2, 2010)

Landmark Legislation Suffers from Lacklustre Implementation
Two years after passing the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Accountability Act the government has failed “to fulfill the Act’s spirit and the intention of parliament” according to a report released May 18, 2010.

Canada Turning Its Back on the World’s Poor: Foreign Aid Spending Hit Hard by Federal Budget
Canada is turning its back on the world’s poor. Today, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that there will be no further planned increases to foreign aid.  “What was needed from this government was a commitment to the world’s poor who are suffering most as a result of the global financial crisis,” says Gerry Barr, President-CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC). “Instead, what we got was a turning of our backs on the poorest and most vulnerable in developing countries.” (March 4, 2010)

Poverty, Climate Change and Financial Reform Must be on G8-G20 Agenda.
Representatives of Canadian anti-poverty and environment groups will brief the media on January 26 from 10:00 to 11:00 am in the National Press Theatre on Canadian civil society priorities for the G8 and G20 Summits. Poverty, climate change and the economic crisis, issues threatening the lives of millions around the globe, must be tackled at the G8-G20 Summits. (January 22, 2010)

19 Canadian aid groups press for action at Montreal conference
International leaders gathering in Montreal to discuss the future of Haiti's reconstruction must press for the participation of Haitian people, promote the interests of women and youth and coordinate their efforts under UN leadership, Canadian aid agencies urged today. (January 25, 2010)

Open letter to Minister for International Cooperation
We are writing this open letter, on behalf of the 90 members of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC), to express the sector’s deep shock and dismay at recent events concerning the defunding of KAIROS.  First, that a long-standing and highly-respected CCIC member was falsely and publicly labelled as anti-Semitic by a Government Minister. Second, that despite earlier responses to KAIROS and to Parliament, it has been revealed that a plainly political rationale was applied in your decision to de-fund KAIROS as a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) partner.
(December 21, 2009)

Canada Urged to Reject "Controversial Elections" in Honduras
A coalition of Canadian development, church, labour and human rights organizations are calling on the Canadian government not to join the US in recognizing the controversial elections to be held in Honduras on November 29—and are calling for further action to strengthen democracy in the Central American nation.
(November 27, 2009)

Canadian Development Organizations Respond to Canada’s Auditor General - CCIC agrees with the Auditor General's report when it notes that international development requires stability, predictability and timely decision making, unfortunately, that’s not what we’re getting.
(November 3, 2009) 

Prominent Canadians Ask Ignatieff to Put Human Rights Before Free Trade in Colombia- Over 50 prominent individuals and organizations have sent Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff a letter urging him to help stop the ratification of the proposed Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until a full and independent human rights impact assessment can be carried out. (April 30, 2009)

A Civil Society Prescription for Canada at the 5th Americas Summit, Trinidad, 17-19 April, 2009 - The 5th Americas Summit represents an important crossroads for Canadian policy in this hemisphere. That's the message in a statement from the Americas Policy Group (APG). (April 15, 2009)

Make Civilian Security in Afghanistan a NATO Summit Priority, CCIC Urges PM - In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the eve of the Strasbourg NATO Summit (3-4 April), CCIC President and CEO, Gerry Barr, urges him to take a leadership role in "promoting measures to increase the safety and protection of civilians caught in the conflict, and in particular those involved with development and humanitarian work inside Afghanistan." (April 1, 2009)

CCIC Releases Analysis of Colombia Free Trade Deal - CCIC is releasing an analysis of the text of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, tabled by the federal government in Parliament. Making a Bad Situation Worse, was compiled by CCIC in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (March 26, 2009)

World's Poor - Hardest Hit by Global Financial Crisis - Missing from Federal Budget - The global financial crisis will be a devastating human tragedy for the world's poor, but unfortunately there was no mention of foreign aid in the Federal Budget. (January 27, 2009)

Signing Free Trade Pact With Colombia Presents Grave Human Rights Concerns - Amnesty International and Canadian Council for International Co-operation are deeply concerned that the free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia has been signed without regard for the widespread and very serious human rights violations that continue to be the daily reality in Colombia. (November 24, 2008)

Canada Must Not Turn Its Back on the Democratic Republic of Congo - Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains illusory, despite a number of on-going peace efforts. Unless the international community, including Canada, remains engaged, the country runs the risk of being subsumed by violence, according to a report released by the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC). (report) (PDF 187 Kb) (November 12, 2008)

Foreign Aid Failing to Help End Global Poverty According to Reality of Aid Report - Foreign aid, in both its quality and quantity, is failing to help end global poverty according to a report. (backgrounder) (PDF 84 Kb) (September 11, 2008)