Global Affairs Canada must cut back millions in aid to Afghanistan, a government briefing note shows. But acting on the advice risks being controversial, it warns.

Aid to Afghanistan has been contentious since the Taliban, a designated terror group, took over in 2021, with their treatment of women of particular concern to the international community.

The Taliban banned girls from attending school past Grade 6 and women from participating in most areas of the economy. It puts Canada’s self-proclaimed feminist foreign policy under a microscope.

The document, obtained by the National Post through an Access to Information request, says the deep interest in Afghanistan among some Canadians could generate “negative media interest” if publicized. It recommends only a “reactive” communications strategy.

Such briefing notes provide ministers background to reinforce reasoning for prospective policy decisions. This December 2023 memo was for Ahmed Hussen, minister for international development.

Meanwhile, no nation has recognized the Taliban administration diplomatically, but the “acute food security” of 12 million or so Afghans forced the Trudeau government to act.

In 2023, Canada justified $367 million in aid to the failed state, claiming it was disbursed “without compromising our values.” Criminal Code provisions on dealing with terrorist groups were changed to allow aid groups to operate there.

Canada, like other allies, speaks to Afghanistan through Qatar, whose office “engages informally with Taliban representatives as needed,” says the memo. Canada closed its embassy after the Taliban usurped Afghanistan's democratically elected government.

Much of the money goes to Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund, a project of the World Bank — not directly to the Taliban. The remainder would fund health, education, women’s rights and humanitarian aid, which Global Affairs Canada still maintains support for.

“Going forward the strategic interests of Canada and our allies in Afghanistan have diminished,” reads the memo, citing a shifting geopolitical landscape and significant financial pressures on Canada.

“As a result, a reduced programming footprint … is proposed, focused on education, health and gender equality in addition to humanitarian assistance,” it said. Canada sent Afghanistan $143 million in humanitarian aid, $70 million in development aid, and $48 million in development aid last year.

Media personalities, human-rights groups and Afghan migrants in Canada are pressing taxpayers to send more aid, but Global Affairs would not say how much it will send the country long-term.

“Canada has continued to provide development assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” said Global Affairs spokesman Louis-Carl Brissette Lesage.

The department estimated $25 million in aid this fiscal year, which falls $10 million below the three-year average since Kabul fell to the Taliban.

A spokesperson for World Vision Canada, a humanitarian group heavily involved in Afghanistan, expressed disappointment with the memo.

“A country like Canada can’t do everything, everywhere all the time,” acknowledged Martin Fischer, policy lead at World Vision Canada. “But if there’s ever a place where values, historical obligation and interests kind of align, it’s Afghanistan."

Global Affairs says it brought 40,000 Afghans under threat from the Taliban to Canada. That rescue effort has been heavily criticized.

“There is no place in recent history where not just Canadian forces but also civilians and diplomats were as present for as long as they were in Afghanistan,” Fischer said.

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