Martin, Clinton: NGOs are agents of change

A Canoe/CNEWS article

By Greg Bonnell

Former President Bill Clinton speaks at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Saturday. (AP/Janet Hostetter)

(CP) - Canadians eager to transform the developing world are well advised to forgo political life and instead pour their efforts into non-governmental organizations - or so say Paul Martin and Bill Clinton.

The prime minister and the former U.S. president have both decried lately the messy business of democracy as a vehicle for delivering aid in favour of private, non-profit organizations.

Indeed, whenever disaster strikes western governments are apt to choose organizations such as the Red Cross and Oxfam to disperse relief funds.

While those working on the non-governmental side of international aid appreciate the sentiment behind Martin's and Clinton's words, they're skeptical proper long-term funding for such projects is forthcoming from Western nations.

Last month, when asked by a Kitchener, Ont., high school student why women are under-represented in the House of Commons, Martin joked they had better sense than to enter politics.

The prime minister then got serious, highlighting the important work women are doing through NGOs.

"I'm not sure that parliament is all that functional a place," Martin told the students.

"You look at the non-governmental organizations, these are the people who are out there working in the environment, working on poverty. They're largely run by women," Martin continued.

"I think that fundamentally most women say 'I can do this through an NGO and why would I put up with (the) hassle (of politics).' I think that's the big reason."

Score one for NGOs and zero for parliamentary democracy.

During speaking engagements that brought Clinton to three Canadian cities in October, the former president said NGOS are making great strides in global change.

"There are tens of thousands of these small NGOs across the globe that are changing lives in phenomenal ways everyday," said Clinton.

In the last two years, the former president has established a non-profit foundation bearing his name that delivers AIDS treatment to 200,000 people in 19 countries.

The reason he's been able to accomplish so much in that short time as opposed to eight years in office?

"When you're a president, or prime minister of Canada.... your life is a constant battle between trying to pursue the agenda you (promised) to implement and trying to deal with all the incoming fire, the events of the day that you can't control," said Clinton, who fielded his share of controversy as president.

When Clinton left office, and the constant demands of political life, "I sat down and I said 'you know, this AIDS thing doesn't make any sense.' We've got generic AIDS drugs, you've got all this money floating around, why is nobody getting treatment?"

Clinton then used his cache as the former president of the most powerful nation in the world to raise $2 billion for AIDS relief.

While other NGOs like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation can also afford to donate billions to Africa, hundreds more struggle to find funding to continue their work, says the former head of Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR).

"I would really like to believe what they said," David Zakus said of Martin and Clinton's musings.

"Maybe they're able to see a lot further into the future than I can, but I don't see that happening at all presently. I see just the opposite in Canada, civil society is being squeezed out."

Having worked with NGOs since the early 1980s, the University of Toronto professor says it is a constant struggle to maintain funding.

Non-governmental organizations, despite their critical role in delivering aid to developing nations, are largely denied a role in government policy making, he added.

So what advice would Zakus give to a student who wants to change the world by entering politics?

"First go, get the experience of an NGO. The most important thing in their stage of life is to make contact with people on the ground," he said.

"Then, if they ever had the inclination to enter politics and try to make a difference that way, they would understand the issues and the problems."

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