I should be grateful if you could bring this matter to the attention of your col­leagues for their consideration at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow morning. The text of the memorandum has been shown to Mr. Deutsch of the Department of Finance who will acquaint Mr. Abbott with its contents before the Cabinet meeting.

If the memorandum meets with your approval I shall have mimeographed copies done for Cabinet.

E. R[EID]
for A.D.P. H[eeney]

[PIÈCE JOINTE/ENCLOSURE]

Projet de Note pour le Cabinet

Draft Memorandum to Cabinet

CONFIDENTIAL Ottawa, October 25, 1951

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMES

On June 12, 1950, Cabinet approved a contribution by Canada of $850,000 to the United Nations Expanded Programme for Technical Assistance for the first financial period of eighteen months ending December 31, 1951. At the same time Cabinet approved a contribution of $400,000 for the first twelve-month period of the operation of the Colombo Programme for Technical Co-operation, on the understanding that the greatest effort should be made to avoid duplication between the Colombo and the United Nations programmes and to coordinate the activities of the two programmes.

2. Canadian participation in both the technical assistance programmes is being co-ordinated by the new International Economic and Technical Co-operation Division in the Department of Trade and Commerce under Mr. R.G. Nik Cavell. This Division receives direction from the Interdepartmental Group on Technical Assis­tance on which the various Departments concerned are represented.

3. In order to plan Canadian participation in the Colombo Programme for Technical Cooperation beyond the end of the present fiscal year, it is necessary to have assurance now that a contribution for the next fiscal year will be included in the main estimates for next year.

4. The Secretary General of the United Nations has requested that the delegations of member states to the forthcoming General Assembly be prepared to pledge contributions for the year 1952 for the United Nations Expanded Technical Assistance Programme. The Economic and Social Council has expressed the opinion that in the light of the estimates for expenditure for the year 1952 it would be reasonable to ask Governments to contribute for the year 1952 amounts equal to or greater than the contributions which they made for the previous eighteen month period.

5. I therefore recommend:

(1) that the Canadian Delegation to the forthcoming General Assembly be author­ized to pledge an amount up to $850,000 as the Canadian contribution to the United Nations programme for the year 1952. The extent of the Canadian contribution should depend on the amounts which other countries are pledging and on whether the Delegation is fully satisfied with the nature of the United Nations Expanded Technical Assistance Programme for 1952;

(2) that approval be given in principle to a second contribution of $400,000 towards the operation of the Colombo Programme for Technical Co-operation, this amount to be inserted in the main estimates for the fiscal year 1952-53 ⁴⁸

⁴⁸ Note marginale :/Marginal note:
U.N. Div[ision] The Cabinet secretariat inform me that Cabinet concurred yesterday in the recommendations. We should inform the committee at its next meeting. I have told Mr Cavell & Mr Heasman E. R[eid] Oct 26/51.