![]() Oda testified at a parliamentary committee in December that she didn’t insert the mysterious "NOT" on the document, either, but agreed with the decision to cut off KAIROS. The two bureaucrats, CIDA head Margaret Biggs and her vice-president, Naresh Singh, have denied altering the document, and say the hand-scrawled "NOT" did not appear on anything they signed. ![]() Oda’s two top officials have confirmed the document they signed was a strong recommendation to fund KAIROS, a conglomerate of 11 churches that has been delivering foreign aid for more than 35 years. The key one, of course, is who inserted the mysterious "NOT" into a signed document, and why. In his Speaker’s ruling Thursday, Milliken acknowledged there are "profoundly disturbing questions that evidently remain unanswered." "CIDA thoroughly analyzed KAIROS’ program proposal and determined, with regret, that it did not meet the agency’s current priorities."Ībbott later apologized for unintentionally misleading Parliament. The minister’s parliamentary secretary, Conservative MP Jim Abbott, couldn’t have been more clear in the Commons: ((Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press file photo))īut Oda claimed in the Commons that KAIROS had lost its funding because the group’s work no longer fit with CIDA’s objectives, strongly suggesting she was acting on the recommendation of her department. International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda says she has no idea who altered the document she signed. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney fanned the flames when he subsequently claimed the government cut off KAIROS because of the group’s criticisms of Israel on the Palestinian issue. The demise of funding for KAIROS ignited political controversy over whether Stephen Harper’s government was systematically punishing aid groups that do not share its views. Without warning, KAIROS was simply informed it would be getting no money from CIDA, a cut that reportedly represented about 40 per cent of the group’s total funding. The change made it appear the department was suggesting the government reject the funding request, which is ultimately what happened. It recommended the minister approve about $7 million in funding to a long-established faith-based foreign aid agency called KAIROS.īut sometime after the minister’s two top officials had signed the document, someone inserted a hand-scrawled "NOT" into the recommendation. The original document in question was from Oda’s department, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). ![]() ![]() ![]() He said the affair shows Oda’s management of her department has become "a gong show." Liberal MP John McKay called the incident "morally reprehensible," and told CBC News he will be asking the prime minister to take immediate action against Oda. Nonetheless, the Speaker’s harshly worded ruling and Oda’s connection to a doctored document is certain to trigger opposition calls for the minister’s head. Milliken said technicalities prevented him from doing anything further about the incident. "Any reasonable person confronted with what appears to have transpired would necessarily be extremely concerned, if not shocked," Milliken wrote in his decision. Milliken called the document tampering "very troubling." Speaker Peter Milliken has ruled a 2009 CIDA document signed by International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda, which defunded the aid agency KAIROS, was 'doctored.'Ī scathing ruling by the Commons Speaker Peter Milliken confirms that a key government document signed by International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda and two of her most senior officials was deliberately "doctored." ![]()
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