愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Joly heads to Africa as Liberals craft 'approach' to continent, instead of strategy

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks with reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks with reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Share
OTTAWA -

Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly is headed to Africa as her government assembles a long-delayed plan on how to engage with the continent.

Joly is heading to Ivory Coast today before visiting South Africa for two days starting Wednesday.

Her office says the trip to Ivory Coast is aimed at exploring shared counterterrorism priorities and affirming Canada's ties with both English- and French-speaking countries.

It says the stop in South Africa will see Joly discuss the economic partnership between the two countries and mark 30 years since the end of Apartheid.

The trip comes just days after the Liberals launched consultations for what they are now calling their approach to Africa, such as where to best station diplomats and what issues to focus on.

The Liberals have been assembling what they first called an Africa strategy for nearly three years, but they downgraded the project last year to call it a framework. In April, a senior bureaucrat said there was no longer a noun being used to describe the plan, which as of this week Ottawa now calls its "approach" to the continent.

Experts in public administration have previously pointed out that strategies are multi-year plans that often have funding allocations, while frameworks are a generic set of principles.

In 2022, senators on the foreign-affairs committee warned that Canada was falling behind both peers and adversaries in forming economic ties on the continent.

Africa is bucking a global trend of demographic decline, with a booming young population and a series of trade deals and infrastructure projects that economists expect will lead to economic booms.

Canada has already pledged some sort of plan for economic co-operation with Africa, and finished a consultation last summer. It's unknown whether this project will be folded into the broader approach Joly is leading.

Aid experts have called on Canada to better brand the projects it funds on the continent and to have a more coherent approach to both development and trade.

Groups like the One Campaign and Cuso International have testified that Canada is losing relevance through continued disengagement, and thus ceding ground to Russia and China.

Joly's trip also comes as Canada faces calls to donate some of its supply of vaccines that can help stem mpox, formerly known as monkeypox.

Ottawa says it's looking into how it can best assist countries where the disease is spreading rapidly, but has indicated no plan to share Canada's stockpile with developing countries.

The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public-health emergency on Aug. 14 due to rapid spread on the continent, where the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have asked countries like Canada to share vaccine doses.

South Africa previously called out countries like Canada for hoarding COVID-19 vaccines that were sorely needed in Africa, and for not supporting efforts to lift patents on COVID-19 medicines and vaccines that were rarely allowed to be manufactured in African countries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2024.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A 21-year-old man who was charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a Toronto police officer this week was out on bail at the time of the alleged offence, court documents obtained by 愛污传媒 Toronto show.

NEW

NEW

A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

DEVELOPING

DEVELOPING

At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building near Montreal's City Hall, sources told Noovo Info.

Local Spotlight

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.

Stay Connected