Voyageur 167
Foreign Aid Gets a Trade Filter, Moneris Gets a new (U.S.) Owner.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Foreign Aid to Get a Trade Filter
Ottawa is going to start tying foreign aid to trade and domestic economic growth, and Canada’s aid sector (perhaps recognizing the writing on the wall) is starting to bristle. The Carney government says aid can reduce poverty while at the same time also building stronger economic relationships with partner countries.
That seems reasonable, but there’s concern in some quarters about where that logic can lead. CityNews reports that groups in the sector worry Canada is drifting toward aid that serves Canadian commercial goals first, even when local suppliers in recipient countries would be cheaper or better suited to the work. The OECD says tied aid potentially can raise procurement costs by up to 30 per cent, but the gov’t says that what it is proposing isn’t exactly “tied aid.”
This is the sort of policy fight that shows itself in the nation’s reputation before it arrives as paperwork. Aid workers, diplomats, teachers, contractors, and Canadian businesses overseas all represent the same Canadian brand, so it might be worth watching how Ottawa is rejigging what that brand is meant to buy.
Read more: CityNews / Canada's National Observer
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Moneris Gets a U.S. Owner
Moneris, one of Canada’s biggest payment processors, is being sold to Francisco Partners for 2 billion dollars. Before the sale, it was jointly owned by RBC and BMO. A U.S. private equity firm will take over the card-reader plumbing the underpins the finances at a significant portion of Canadian shops and restaurants.
Global News says Moneris currently supports payments at 325,000 points of commerce in Canada. The announcement of the sale comes just a few days after AMD said it would buy Taalas, a Canadian semiconductor company, which both deals are getting somewhat folded into Canada’s running debate about digital sovereignty. It’s not really a phrase that quickens the pulse of most citizens, but it becomes less abstract when the subject is who gets to record payment data.
Read more: Global News / The Globe and Mail