On 9 June 2017, Minister Bibeau announced Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy, which situates intersectional feminist human rights frameworks at the core of development and humanitarian aid. As well, the new policy directs funding and programs to focus on the most vulnerable and underserved people throughout the world, wherever they may be.

This move to centralize feminist perspectives at the core of Global Affairs is a direct result of coordinated consultation and advocacy from groups like Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights and the CAPPD. In 2016, Global Affairs Canada announced that they would be reviewing Canada’s International Assistance. The consultation process engaged a wide range of Canadians and international partners, including Canadian NGOs, donor and partner governments, youth, people in developing countries, and experts in the field of international assistance with over 15,000 people and partners engaged in the consultations, which resulted in more than 10,600 written contributions. The overwhelming majority voiced the need for a human rights and feminist framework to be adopted. With this progressive policy in hand, civil society alongside progressive parliamentarians must push beyond the rhetoric to see substantive implementation and action toward a future where sexual and reproductive health and rights are an integral part of all international cooperation.