Bev Oda Admits to Altering Funding Document

The minister for international cooperation said a document denying funding to a church-based aid organization was doctored on her orders.

As far as document tampering goes, it was not a sophisticated effort. In a 2009 document that originally approved funding to the KAIROS aid organization, where it said “sign here to indicate you approve a contribution,” someone had written “not” before “approve” in a grammatically dubious reversal of bureaucrats’ funding decision. In previous testimony at a Commons committee, Oda claimed she didn’t know who had penned the word, but Monday admitted it was written on her orders. MPs accused Oda of deliberately misleading the committee, and her seemingly last-minute decision to deny funding to KAIROS has led to allegations that the Conservatives are punishing aid groups that don’t share their views. KAIROS is involved in the divestment campaign against Israel.