As we approach budget day and speculate about how the government will address the many priorities, commitments and demands they face, we in the international development sector have been working together to build a solid case for why Budget 2017 needs to include a substantive increase in international assistance.

From 1990 to the present, cuts to our aid budget were triple that of domestic programs in percentage terms. Given that aid accounts for a mere two per cent of total spending, this was nickel-and-diming the poor was downright unconscionable. We now spend a miserly 0.26 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on aid.

We cannot spend tens of millions of dollars promoting a low carbon future while also spending tens of millions promoting extractives. With the Agreement in full force, Canada can pivot its approach to international assistance to reflect real policy coherence. We need to support small-scale, decentralized clean energy programs that promote pro-poor, gender sensitive projects.

Canada has a strong record of contributing to global peace and prosperity. Canada's international development and humanitarian actions have for decades allowed it to play a proactive and positive role on the world stage. But in order to ensure sustainable development in a quickly changing landscape, both domestically and internationally, we must do things differently.