Legislation will soon be introduced to transfer the non-partisan organization’s functions to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, John Baird said in a statement Tuesday.
“For some time, the many challenges of [Rights & Democracy] have been well publicized,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said. “It is time to put these past challenges behind us and move forward.”
The agency’s former president, Remy Beauregard, died in 2010 from of a heart attack after a contentious board meeting. Some board members had given him a negative evaluation and sent it to federal officials without allowing him to review a copy.
Mr. Beauregard was accused of lax bookkeeping and sanctioning funding for a discredited United Nations conference. An audit found no basis for the allegations and the government was criticized for reappointing of board members involved in the crisis. The audit did, however, find problems stemming from board’s attempts to control the organization’s activities.
Calls to the agency weren’t returned Tuesday but it did issue a statement saying staff are aware of the government’s intention. “We will not comment on the decision. We will respect it,” Rights & Democracy said. “If so directed by the Board, we will proceed with a timely and organized wind down of our operations. Our staff will be treated fairly and respectfully.”
The proposed change would create a “clean slate” as part as “efforts to find efficiencies and savings,” Mr. Baird said.
The agency received more than $9-million from the government in 2011, making up 81 per cent of its budget.
Rights & Democracy wasn’t mentioned by name in the budget tabled by the Conservatives last week, but the document did call for $72.4-million in cuts from Foreign Affairs during 2012-13. It suggested internal services would be consolidated and missions abroad scaled back.
Formally known as the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, the agency was created in 1988 by Brian Mulroney’s Conservative government. The arms-length group’s mandate was to encourage democracy abroad and monitor human rights.
Original Article
Source: Globe
Author: carys mills
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