Should taxpayers in the Township pay to improve the economies of Vietnam, Cambodia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Nicaragua or Bolivia?
Taxpayers across the country already pay for trade, goodwill and cultural missions to countries all over the world. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), administers foreign aid programs in developing countries, and operates in partnership with other Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors, as well as other international organizations.
The mandate of CIDA, a government agency, is to support sustainable development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has created a new initiative, Municipal Partners for Economic Development, and the Township’s application to take part was endorsed on Monday.
The reaction among Township politicians was mixed.
“I don’t see the value of this,” said Councillor Charlie Fox.
“It’s nothing short of a phenomenal opportunity to help,” Councillor Steve Ferguson said.
“It’s a potential perk for a politician,” Councillor Kim Richter put in.
“We’ve got a lot of economic development to do here in Langley,” Richter added. “We need to focus closer to home.”
Her bid to limit the number of Township representatives to two per trip was lost for lack of a seconder.
Under the program, FCM would pay the transportation and accommodation costs of the first two representatives to travel on an economic mission. Taxpayers would pay for the third and subsequent representatives.
The primary cost is staff time, administrator Mark Bakken advised council, adding that employees would be on the payroll anyway.
Through the FCM, the Township established a partnership with a city in the Philippines a decade ago. It involved several trips, usually involving department heads such as Bakken, the fire chief and chief bylaw enforcement officer.
Councillor Mel Kositsky, who has made several journeys, to the Philippines condemned criticism of the program.
Expressing shock at Fox and Richter, Kositsky said, “I can’t believe the comments.”
“Poverty is rampant, we know that,” he said, adding that FCM has been working with developing countries for more than 20 years.
Councillor Grant Ward agreed.
“It’s showing the world that Canada cares,” he said.
Richter suggested that since this is a staff initiative with focus on technical expertise “why don’t we limit this to staff? Why send elected officials on this junket?” .
Approval for the Township’s participation in the MPEC program passed with only Richter and Fox opposed.