Margaret Wente needs a reality check (Why Do We Fund NGOs Anyway? - Jan. 7) First, she says Immigration Minister Jason Kenney got it right when he described the ecumenically-based human-rights organization Kairos as a leader of a boycott campaign against Israel. But both she and Mr. Kenney are wrong. Kairos does not advocate for the boycott of Israel and, in fact, has rejected it on the record.
Second, Ms. Wente deplores the politics of NGOs that advocate for social change and says she doesn't understand why NGOs deserve government funding. But anyone who believes that we'll end global poverty, achieve universal access for girls to school or ensure access to essential medicines and basic health care without social change isn't living on the same planet as the rest of us.
All NGOs (right, left and centre) include advocacy in their efforts for social change and poverty eradication. Sadly, if alignment with the politics of the government of the day is the standard for getting funding, we can all say goodbye to effective and accountable aid practice.
President and CEO, Canadian Council for International Co-operation