Angry in the Great White North

From the Canadian Foodgrains Bank list of North Korean projects:

DPRK, North Korea, Soybean Proposal, #1937-01

Lead Member: Presbyterian World Service & Development
Supporting partner(s): Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Christian & Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, Mennonite Central Committee Canada, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, The Salvation Army, United Church of Canada, World Relief Canada
Country: North Korea (DPRK)
Implementing partner(s): Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU) and World Food Programme (WFP).
Food/Inputs: 1320 metric tonnes Soybeans
Budget: $722,900.00
Time Period: August 2005--February 2006

Canadian Foodgrains Bank's contribution of soybeans will be used to produce micronutrient-fortified food for infants, orphans and pregnant and nursing women across North Korea, in 10 provinces. This contribution implemented by FALU will support WFP and the Government in their efforts towards saving lives and promoting the health and nutritional status of the most vulnerable by providing regular access to minimum energy and dietary requirements. In total 1,138,308 beneficiaries will be fed with this donation. Canadian Foodgrains Bank has been involved in providing food assistance to vulnerable groups in DPRK since 1996. To-date, the Foodgrains Bank, with generous donations from Canadian farmers and the Canadian Government, has donated over Cdn$38 million of food and relief aid to the DPRK, via FALU. In the past three years, Canadian Foodgrains Bank has, among other commodities, shipped over 17,000mt of wheat to DPRK for a variety of strategic interventions.

That's all well and good, but at some point it will have to be noted that the $722,900 worth of aid to North Korea meant that the the North Korean government was able to divert $722,900 towards the development of a nuclear device without being forced to face the consequences of a starving populace (or at least a populace starving somewhat less).

It's common sense.

Now the Canadian Foodgrains Bank receives funding for projects from the Canadian International Development Agency. CIDA has been supporting the Bank and others to the tune of $9.31 milllion a year to help Kim Jong Il feed his people:

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has been providing only humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

In 2003-2004, Canadian Official Development Assistance to the DPRK totalled $9.31 million through multilateral channels.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, like all other countries and territories eligible for Canadian development assistance could benefit from various programs listed below (certain conditions apply):

• geographic and multilateral programs or the International Humanitarian Assistance Program;
• other programs that allow institutions, associations, Canadian and international non-governmental organizations and, private sector enterprises to receive funding from CIDA to execute projects worldwide; and
• the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, to be managed beginning in 2006 by the Canadian Embassy to the DPRK, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Certain conditions apply? Like not building nuclear weapons?

The minister in charge of CIDA is Josee Verner, representing the riding of Louis-St-Laurent. She is the Minister of International Cooperation and the Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages.

I don't see a news release in October in which Minister Verneer defines how federal aid money to North Korea is going to be affected by recent events. At the very least, the CFLI program ought to be suspended.

At some point, someone has to realize that aid to North Korea is aid used to build nuclear bombs. Anything that helps stabilize the regime and keep it from worrying about how to feed its own people helps Kim Jong Il focus on nuclear development.

Maybe that aid is necessary anyway, just to keep the regime stable, since implosion is something most leaders seem to want to avoid for as long as possible. But if it is unavoidable anyway, delaying it has resulted in creating a North Korea that will have working nuclear devices when it implodes, instead of having to deal with an imploding North Korea that was merely trying to make one.

In any case, that time has passed. So what now? The federal government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are going to have to make some tough decisions:

• Does Canada continue to provide millions of dollars of aid to North Korea trough government programs or by funding other groups?
• If not, does the government pull that funding, and when?
• If a charity manages to put together an aid mission without help from the federal government, does the government stop that mission? Through what legal means?
• If the support is ended, will the opposition parties use it as an excuse to paint the Conservatives as heartless? Will the argument resonate with Canadians?

Not easy stuff. But then Stephen Harper as shown himself willing to deal with tough issues.