Re: Lester Pearson’s challenge
I would like to congratulate the House of Lords for passing historic legislation which requires the British government to allocate 0.7 per cent of its GDP to Overseas Development Assistance.
Why this is of such interest to Canadians is that in 1969 our prime minister, Lester Pearson, challenged developed countries to achieve this level of funding to those countries less fortunate than us.
Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg and now Britain have achieved that target.
Unfortunately, despite promises by several governments, Canada is still below 0.3 per cent. Perhaps it is time for us to pass such a law in Ottawa and honour the memory of a great man.
Sam Weller
Oak Bay