Of Icewine and Lingerie

CIDA was in the hotseat this past week for revelations that money has been sent to China to research the viability of fostering an icewine industry in China, as well as a separate sum (over 100 grand) to fund a sewing factory that makes (among other things) lingerie. A slightly different spin is here.

The Harper government has said it will be looking into the projects to see if they meet the priorities of CIDA programming. Many have questioned the support of business in a country that has seen mammoth economic growth over the past few years, especially when Canada has shifted its aid disbursements away from some countries to concentrate efforts. Others have pointed out that perhaps icewine and lingerie aren't the best avenues to development.

The Niagara Winery at the centre of the one project under dispute has argued that in the process of investment in the Chinese winery they have "guided them on human rights issues, such as hiring women." No examples are given and context is entirely missed but this is not the point of the article (nothing is found on the Pillitteri Winery website).

Pillitteri also had this to say:

You can't look at the CIDA program as a handout. It's not a handout. It's an investment. The government of Canada is investing with me to expand the markets for Canadian business but also to expand Canadian lifestyle, passion, ethics and human rights.

There's value in all of that.

The Sun article mentions an internal audit CIDA conducted into the business programme but I wasn't able to find it on their website. The Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) also posts some government reports (along with their own) but I haven't had the time to sift through them to see if the audit is there.

If anyone finds the audit please post to the comments.