Canada to put $1B into maternal health: report

The federal government is telling other G8 countries that Canada is willing to put about $1 billion toward maternal and child health, as long as other countries ante up too, sources tell The Canadian Press.

The Canadian cash will likely target poor countries with the worst records of maternal and child mortality and malnutrition.

The amount is less than what Canada will spend to host the G8 and G20 summits at the end of June. New figures show the final bill for the three days of meetings could easily top $1.2 billion.

It’s also far less than the $2 billion over five years that the United Nations' children's fund has said is necessary for Canada to make a meaningful difference in the health of poor mothers.

'Countries are putting money on the table.' — John Kirton, G8 Research Group, U of T

But insiders say it's generous enough to persuade other G8 countries that Canada is serious about its maternal health initiative, despite spending months in a domestic debate about whether the money should fund better access to safe abortion.

"Other governments are beginning to respond," said John Kirton, director of the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto. "Countries are putting money on the table."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in January that improving the health of moms and their kids in developing countries would be his signature initiative as host of the G8 summit next month.

Initially, the pitch was well received around the world.

Concerns are on the rise that maternal health issues have been pushed aside in development assistance packages over the years.

But after Ottawa spent weeks sidestepping questions about whether the government would allow funding to go to groups or projects that encourage better access to safe abortion, Canada’s maternal health idea lost momentum.

When G8 development ministers finally met in Halifax in April, they agreed on vaguely defined goals for the initiative, and made no mention of a target for funding.

G8 deficits loom

Then Greece’s sovereign debt crisis spilled over its borders and dragged down Europe. The burgeoning deficits of G8 countries have now become a policy priority, prompting many anti-poverty advocates and experts to question whether the leaders would find the wherewithal to support a new aid project in poor countries.

"There’s nothing on the table. How serious are they about this?" NDP critic Paul Dewar said last week.

Harper has spent far more effort fighting to save Canadian banks from a global bank tax than he has in marketing his own maternal health initiative, Dewar said.

"It’s the global bank tour for Mr. Harper and company. Well, what about the global tour to save women and children?"

But the Canadian initiative made enough headway this month for Ottawa to indicate to international negotiators meeting quietly across Canada last week that they were ready to kick off the fundraising process, sources said.

Typically, a G8 host will pick a development theme for its summit, and back up its theme with substantial funding. Then, the host tries to leverage that money, asking other G8 countries to match it, and then shop the initiative around to a broader group.

Canada has just started that process, pressuring other G8 countries to come forward. It will probably also tap the broader G20 for support as well.

Aid budget currently frozen

Ottawa is also in close contact with major international organizations, other countries such as Norway, and private-sector funds such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in the hope they, too, will throw their weight behind the initiative, sources say.

Still, the federal government has indicated it does not want to make any funding announcements until the summit, or just before, when all the money comes together.

There is no indication yet about how the federal government will come up with a billion dollars over several years. Canada’s aid budget has been frozen starting this year, but federal officials have said they will not starve other development programs to pay for the maternal health initiative.

"If the government is really serious about this, they’re going to have to take a serious look at their budget," Dewar said. "Reshuffling the money is not what this is about."

The government has managed to find enough money to pay for the summits themselves, even though the bill is $1.2 billion and counting, a Canadian Press review of budget documents shows.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has had to defend his plan to spend $933 million on security, but the review of budget documents has found that the bill for the G8 and G20 summits is even higher.

Documents released last week showed Foreign Affairs and International Trade and some smaller departments are planning to spend about $110 million.

That’s in addition to previous tranches handed to Foreign Affairs, totalling an extra $110 million, the review found, drawing on numbers from previous fiscal years and this year’s main estimates.

The government also gave Industry Minister Tony Clement $50 million to beautify the area around the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ont., which is in his riding.

Federal ministers argue that the costs are necessary to ensure the summits are secure, pointing out that this is the first time a country has been host to two summits back to back.

Opposition members say the costs are exorbitant, an example of "incompetence and mismanagement."