Oct 10
25
Francophonie – another money-wasting international organization
Montreal Gazette – October 22, 2010
Francophonie struggling with identity at 40th-anniversary summit
Postmedia News
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will attend a 40th-anniversary summit here starting today where members of the Francophonie, founded in 1970 as a sort of boutique alliance to promote French language and culture, will attempt to establish its relevance in a much more complex and dangerous world. The group of 56 francophone or francophile states and governments, and 14 observer countries, has had successes that include the promotion of TV5 Monde, a handy vehicle to export popular Canadian French-language television productions to nations around the world. But like many international organizations the Francophonie has struggled to define itself, and make a difference on major issues of democracy and human rights, amid internal problems. Among them is a “cumbersome, costly and inefficient” governance system for a body to which Canadian taxpayers contribute roughly $40 million annually, according to a 2009 audit by the Canadian International Development Agency. That total doesn’t include spending by the governments of Quebec and New Brunswick, provinces that have “participating government” status and are represented here by premiers Jean Charest and David Alward.