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Understanding international assistance terminology
The term "international assistance" refers to any financial resource provided by Canadian governments (federal, provincial, or municipal) in favour of development. The terms "international assistance," "international aid," and "aid" are synonymous and are used interchangeably.
Official Development Assistance (ODA), as defined in the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, is compatible with the international definition created by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-DAC). However, unlike the international definition, the Act does not cover assistance from provincial or municipal sources. The table below shows the difference between the Act and the international definition.
International assistance and ODA are not equivalent. While the majority of Canada's international assistance counts as official development assistance, some aid does not qualify as such under the Act. In this report, when aid does not qualify as official development assistance it is called "other official assistance."
The International Assistance Envelope (IAE) is the main planning instrument for funding the federal government's portion of Canada's aid. While the majority of Canada's aid is funded by the IAE, it is not the only source of funding. For example, given its conditional and transitory nature, bilateral debt relief is not managed within the IAE framework.
Canadian International Assistance Envelope, Canadian ODA, and OECD-DAC ODA (in C$ millions): 2009-2010
| DEPARTMENT/SOURCE | of which | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Assistance | Programs funded by the IAE I |
ODAAA: Statistical Report II |
OECD-DAC III |
Difference (OECD-DAC ODA minus ODAAA) (III)-(II) |
||
| Departments reporting under the ODAAA | ||||||
| Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) | 3,575.00 | 3,575.00 | 3,571.62 | 3,571.62 | - | |
| Department of Finance Canada | 540.61 | 483.48 | 540.61 | 540.61 | - | |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) | 426.10 | 407.48 | 280.43 | 280.43 | - | |
| International Development Research Centre (IDRC) | 174.05 | 174.05 | 172.80 | 172.80 | - | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 31.69 | 31.69 | 31.69 | 31.69 | - | |
| National Defence | 53.52 | 40.39 | 53.52 | 53.52 | - | |
| Natural Resources Canada | 2.02 | 2.02 | 2.02 | 2.02 | - | |
| Health Canada | 13.39 | 13.39 | 13.39 | - | ||
| Environment Canada | 2.05 | 2.05 | 2.05 | - | ||
| Human Resources and Social Development Canada | 2.08 | 2.08 | 2.08 | - | ||
| Industry Canada | 1.08 | 1.08 | 1.08 | - | ||
| Parks Canada | 0.41 | 0.41 | 0.41 | - | ||
| Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) | 114.74 | 114.74 | 114.74 | - | ||
| Services received by CIDA from other government departments | 27.44 | 8.74 | 27.44 | 27.44 | - | |
| Subtotal ― Departments reporting under the ODAAA | 4,964.18 | 4,722.86 | 4,813.87 | 4,813.87 | - | |
| % of International Assistance | 95.1% | 97.0% | 97.0% | The vast majority of international assistance programs covered by the ODAAA are funded through the IAE. | ||
| Other departments or sources | ||||||
| Cost of refugees in Canada (provincial) | 173.74 | 173.74 | 173.74 | International assistance programs reported as DAC-ODA but not under the ODAAA are largely funded by provincial or municipal governments. Loan repayments are not accounted for in ODAAA statistics. |
||
| Subsidies for foreign students | 167.20 | 167.20 | 167.20 | |||
| Provincial and municipal international assistance programs | 51.69 | 51.69 | 51.69 | |||
| Export Development Canada (EDC) loan repayments | -21.85 | -21.85 | -21.85 | |||
| Subtotal ― Other departments or sources | 370.77 | - | - | 370.77 | 370.77 | |
| Total | 5,334.95 | 4,722.86 | 4,813.87 | 5,184.65 | 370.77 | |
| % of total International Assistance | 88.5% | 90.2% | 97.2% | |||
*Any difference between these figures and ODAAA figures outlined in "the summary report" can be attributed to that report's preliminary nature. All figures published in the Statistical Report on International Assistance are final.
