International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda on Monday admitted she was behind the mysterious “not” that was handwritten on a government document that ended funding for church-backed aid organization Kairos and its international relief work.
Reversing her earlier testimony at a Commons committee — where she had claimed not to know who penned the extra word — and revealed she had, in fact, directed an unnamed official to add the word “not.”
“The funding decision was mine. The ‘not’ was inserted at my direction,” Oda said in a surprise statement in the Commons.
“Given the way the document was formatted allowing only for concurrence, this was the only way to reflect my decision,” she said. “My instructions were to indicate on the document my decision not to provide funding.”
Oda’s statement angered opposition MPs, who said the minister was caught in a clear contradiction in the case, which springs from a 2009 document from the Canadian International Development Agency.
“We have a real problem,” Liberal MP Bob Rae said, noting how the document leaves the impression that two bureaucrats agreed with the decision to end the funding.
“It’s a fabrication of their position,” Rae said. “The story isn’t over because I don’t think her answers are very compelling today.”
That document recommended the renewal of funding for Kairos — also known as the Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives — which is a church-based non-governmental organization that addresses human rights issues worldwide.
“Recommendation — that you sign below to indicate you approve a contribution of $7,098,758, over four years for the above program,” read the document.
Below that are the signatures of Oda along with Naresh Singh, a CIDA vice-president, and Margaret Biggs, CIDA president.
The word “not” had been handwritten before the word “approve,” reversing the intent of the funding recommendation.
Asked point-blank at a December committee meeting who wrote the “not,” Oda replied, “I do not know.”
But Monday — after a public rebuke by Commons Speaker Peter Milliken — Oda changed her tune, saying it was her decision to overrule the agency’s funding recommendation.
“The way in which this case has been handled, including by myself, has been unfortunate,” Oda said.
Opposition MPs are trying to keep the heat on Oda.
NDP MP Paul Dewar wants Oda to appear again before the foreign affairs committee to face question. He raised the prospect of a police investigation if opposition MPs are unable to find out who “doctored” the document.
“We have a problem in terms of consistency with the truth and that’s what we have to get to the bottom of,” Dewar said.
Milliken said last week the whole affair “gives rise to very troubling questions.”
“Any reasonable person confronted with what appears to have transpired would necessarily be extremely concerned, if not shocked, and might well begin to doubt the integrity of certain decision-making processes,” he said.
“In particular, the senior CIDA officials concerned must be deeply disturbed by the doctored document they have been made to appear to have signed,” Milliken said.
