Haiti: Same Old Road to Hell

The genesis for Nikolas Barry-Shaw and Dru Oja Jay’s book, Paved with Good Intentions: Canada’s Development NGOs from Idealism to Imperialism (Fernwood Publishing, 2012), was the discovery that Canadian development non-governmental organizations (NGOs), even those considered progressive, aided in the 2004 coup to overthrow Aristide in Haiti. They gave resources to his opponents, and continued to demonize Aristide and his grassroots movement, Lavalas. The authors, members of Haiti Action Montreal (linked with Canada Haiti action network), were especially shocked at the stance of Alternatives, a Montreal based group, and began to question the role of NGOs in general.

Their first realization was that these organizations are not really non-governmental. The major development NGOS, supposedly operating to bring democracy and prosperity to poorer nations, normally receive half their budget from the Canadian government, principally through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Any significant amount from a single donor (as opposed to genuine grassroots funding) leads to powerful control over the activities of an organization. NGOs wishing to receive funding could not criticize Canadian foreign policy; the radical groups of the 1970s were defunded and the remaining ones were “increasingly in bed with the government.” The Canadian government in turn, despite its (benevolent pacifistic social democratic) image amongst some in Canada and elsewhere, cooperated with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, to install and support a murderous regime in Haiti. The CIDA paid the salary of the new Deputy Justice Minister and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police trained the police, which engaged in atrocities.

Among the NGOs the authors cite are Canada World Youth, Canadian Hunger Foundation Partners in Rural Development, Oxfam Quebec, Development & Peace, and Canadian University Service Overseas. They share with the Canadian government an official ideology: the poor need resources. It is a technical matter, not ideological or political.