Humanitarian NGOs issue layoff notices in anticipation
Some $1 million in annual funding will not reach the Canadian Council for International Cooperation this year, a move the CCIC is saying is indicative of the government’s desire to silence critics in the international development community. The coalition of almost 90 NGOs who work both domestically and abroad to reduce global poverty has not heard back after submitting a funding proposal sent last October to the Canadian International Development Agency, whose three-year contract with the CCIC has just expired after a four-month extension. “I think the most distinctive sound in this case is silence and it is foreboding,” said Gerry Barr, president and CEO of the Council. “It doesn’t indicate that things are going well.” Federal money has accounted for roughly $1.6 million of the CCIC’s $2.4 million annual budget, which means the group faces major restructuring if funding runs dry.