Mr. Speaker, the following reflects a consolidated response approved on behalf of Global Affairs Canada ministers.

With regard to parts (a) and (b), the Canada fund for local initiatives, CFLI, is an international assistance contribution program under the authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs with an annual operating budget of $26.89 million. Each year, the CFLI supports over 800 small-scale, high-impact projects with an average budget of $32,000, implemented in over 120 official development assistance, ODA, eligible countries.

The department undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a comprehensive response. The response would require the retrieval of information stored in various databases for over 820 contributions agreements. The department concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question would require an extensive collection of information that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

CFLI contributions of a value above $10,000 are subject to proactive disclosure and are published on the Open Government site under proactive disclosure at the following link: https://open.canada.ca/en.

CFLI initiatives align with the six action areas established under Canada’s feminist international assistance policy and seek to contribute to advancing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, and ensuring security and stability. The CFLI is also geared to assist in the advocacy of Canada’s values and interests and the strengthening of Canada’s bilateral relations with foreign countries and their civil societies. CFLI funding can also be deployed for humanitarian assistance in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters and other emergencies. By funding and supporting projects developed by local organizations that may not otherwise qualify for funding from larger donors, the CFLI program fosters stronger and more resilient civil society sectors among ODA-eligible countries.

The recipients of CFLI contributions are, with few exceptions, local civil society organizations, CSOs, active at the community and grassroots level. While the CFLI does on occasion partner with local government entities when deemed strategic to do so to meet Canadian objectives, it is rare. For example, the CFLI partnered with government entities in 1.25% of projects in programming in the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24.

The selection of CFLI projects is performed on an annual basis by designated committees within 69 implementing missions and with initiatives being submitted through calls for proposals published on a dedicated website: https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/funding-financement/cfli-fcil/index.aspx?lang=eng. Projects are selected based on criteria identified by the program’s terms and conditions, including the degree of alignment with Canada’s international assistance, as well as its foreign affairs priorities and interests. The financial authorities for the CFLI are held by the head of missions.

Rob Oliphant

$540,030.00