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172 Aid and Ebb Tide The pre­investment starter and feasibility study facilities were trans­ ferred to INC, and given higher funding ceilings ($10,000 and $100,000 respectively). The new program was also encouraged to fund travel and other activities that would disseminate information to the Canadian private sector about Third World opportunities and to recipient countries about potential Canadian interests. Equally broad was the authority to provide assistance— unrelated to specific investment projects—for such matters as management training for developing country nationals, language and specialized prepara­ tion for Canadians going abroad on business, and institutional linkages for business and industry associations. In addition, provision was made for indus­ trial credits to enable selected developing countries to use Canadian expertise to help strengthen capacities in industrial planning, export marketing, and private­sector development.129 Two more programs were added to INC's responsibilities in 1979. First, business resentment about the relatively poor success rate of Canadian firms bidding for multilateral aid contracts—an issue highlighted by the Hatch committee—prompted creation of a Canadian Project Preparation Facility (CPPF) within INC to assist Canadian companies "in obtaining a fairer share of multilaterally funded business."130 Second, and less Canadian­centred, was a venture begun in 1979 to promote exports to Canada from developing coun­ tries. Operated on behalf of CIDA by Canadian Executive Service Overseas (CESO), the Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) had a mandate to work with Canadian importers on behalf of all developing countries, especially "the poorest countries without adequate trade representation in Canada."131 Poten­ tially of greater developmental value than many INC facilities, TFO remained low­key and insignificant. Personnel with trade commissioner and private­sector experience were hired to oversee INC, and the program was launched with considerable fan­ fare and media exposure, especially in the business press. Spending rose rapidly, from $250,000 in the last year of the old program, to $460,000 in 1978­79, $3.95 million in 1979­80 and $7.21 million in 1980­81.132 Mixed Results in Improving the Public Image The initial press reports about Dupuy conveyed, as he wished, the image of a "no­nonsense" bureaucrat determined to overcome CIDA's managerial weaknesses.133 However, hopes that a change in the presidency would over­ come negative perceptions of the aid program were only partially realized. During Dupuy's first few weeks in office, the media continued to look to CIDA for sensational copy. The Toronto Sun carried a "CIDA dossier" of horror stories shortly after Dupuy's appointment.134 A few months later, fol­ Retrenchment and Reorientation, 1977­80 173 lowing CIDA's rebuttal of an article in the New York Times Magazine, the Ottawa Citizen gave an account of the exchange under the headline "CIDA denies giving 500 cattle for barbecue to Amin."135 Gradually, the frequency of this sort of publicity diminished, and CIDA ceased to be the hot issue that it was during the last half of Gerin­Lajoie's presidency. However, allegations of waste and ineptitude still dogged the Agency from time to time. Some came from recycled versions of the old hor­ ror stories,136 which lived on for years, but some were new. A CTV W5 docu­ mentary in October 1979 showed broken­down Canadian forklift trucks rusting away at the harbour in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The "boat that wouldn't float" came back to haunt the Agency after the Auditor General undertook a comprehensive audit of CIDA during the 1978­79 fiscal year. He reported that an additional $745,000 had been spent from March 1976 to June 1979 "for repairs, modification, equipment, stability tests and hiring of crew, bringing the Agency's total cost for the vessel to $1.4 million." After the Colombian government still refused to accept the boat for use in a CIDA fish­ eries project, the Crown Assets Disposal Corporation eventually sold the vessel for $133,000.137 After all the effort that had gone into overcoming the weaknesses criti­ cized earlier, the Auditor General's comments were discouraging, damning the Agency with faint praise: CIDA has recently taken a number of positive steps towards improving its over­ all management processes, such as establishing the Resources and Comp­ troller's Branches. However, there still appears to be insufficient recognition or understanding of the importance of financial management and control as a fun­ damental responsibility of line management... . The development of effective financial management and control systems needs to be given greater 11R...

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