Buying Interest

There are quite enough questions surrounding wise use of funds raised by volunteers and donors eager to further the cause of legitimate charities. With some administration fees appearing to outweigh the balance in favour of the provision of services reflecting the thrust of many charitable organizations.

So, how do those charities, well known and highly respected, allocate funds spent on convincing politicians to travel to far-off countries where the charities are known to operate, to bring them fully abreast with the needs of impoverished people, and the ameliorative work performed by the charities...they do consider what it costs to send them to those sites, administrative expenses?

Irrespective of how the expense is costed and explained, those who generously donate to enable the charities to continue their good work at salving our consciences in our worlds of plenty, have reason to grumble that part of the funding is used for sponsored junkets. Well-salaried Parliamentarians, should they be truly interested of their own volition in charitable work, should be capable of paying their own way.

Charities such as World Vision Canada, Engineers Without Borders and Canadian Economic Development Assistance for Southern Sudan, all are dedicated to performing needed and necessary work to aid people living in undeveloped countries of the world. As part of the process they have indulged in spending tens of thousands of dollars, representing funding collected through charitable donations to expose politicians to conditions and solutions abroad.

In the hopes that Members of Parliament will have their horizons broadened sufficiently so they will take the initiative to enthuse their supporters in their ridings with the information they have learned, and to transform knowledge into action. The charities are gambling that spending that money on airfare will conclude with a greater recognition of their good works and a subsequent increase in charitable donations.

For sponsors of MP junkets who represent trade associations or diplomatic groups like the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association or the Centre for Israel and Jewish affairs, the manner in which these organizations choose to spend their funding is their business. Offering free flights to the venue that represents their interests in trade or diplomacy is a business affair.

In the event that charitable organizations whose purpose is to offer humanitarian aid to the under- privileged, the indigent poor, the medically neglected, the afflicted and the inflicted-upon, it represents a tawdry affair when politicians' time and commitment must be bought through the avails of charitable collections.

It is a practise that should be seen for the shabby moral blight that it represents.