Why Did Canada Shift Its Aid From Africa?

To the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled 

We, the undersigned citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to provide an explanation of the Canadian International Development Agency's shift in focus regarding countries receiving Canadian foreign bilateral aid.

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Evidence: http://tinyurl.com/cida-shift-info

This petition simply requests that the Government of Canada explain why it is shifting foreign aid away from low income African countries towards wealthier countries in the Americas.

The purpose of Canadian foreign aid is to reduce poverty and the shift to focusing on wealthier countries requires an explanation. Without knowing the reasons for the government's change of direction, Canadians cannot ensure that our foreign aid is spent effectively and appropriately. After all, the current government ran an election on accountability and transparency.

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More info:

The Government of Canada has announced that it will be shifting its development assistance from 8 low income African countries, such as Rwanda, towards middle income countries from the Americas, such as Colombia.

Of concern is the fact that the dropped African countries are much worse off than the added countries from the Americas.

Average life expectancy
-> Dropped countries from Africa: 48 years
-> Added countries from the Americas: 72 years
-> source: UNDP

Population living on less than $2 per day
-> Dropped countries from Africa: 72% of the population
-> Added countries from the Americas: 24% of the population
-> source: UNDP

Simply put, this petition requests that the Government of Canada explain its rationale for shifting the focus of Canadian foreign aid.

Countries that were dropped from Canada's foreign aid list:
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Guyana, Kenya, Malawi, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Zambia

Countries added to Canada's foreign aid list:
Afghanistan, Colombia, Haiti, Peru, Sudan, the West Bank/Gaza, the Caribbean

-> source: UNDP Source: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/CIDAWEB/acdicida.nsf/En/JUD-51895926-JEP