Today, 17^th October (and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty), promises to be a big day for proponents of aid transparency in Canada. Engineers Without Borders Canada are leading a national day of action to urge the Canadian government to sign up to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) before the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 6 weeks’ time.

As a major aid donor, the transparency of Canadian aid flows would go a long way towards achieving comprehensive and meaningful aid transparency internationally. Today, Engineers Without Borders Canada will be on the street in 30 cities across Canada ensuring people know about IATI – using black boxes to convey the current lack of transparency around the $5 billion national aid budget.

The organisation is also launching a 24 hour ‘sign and share’ initiative which allows people to send a letter to the Canadian Minister of International Cooperation, urging that Canada join the other 21 signatories of IATI.

Find out more here.