Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s minister of international development and la francophonie, will discuss efforts to fight poverty through gender equality in Canada’s international assistance programs during this year’s Winegard Visiting Lectureship on International Development.

Bibeau will speak on “The Future is Female: Canada’s First Feminist International Assistance Policy” on Jan. 22 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Rozanski Hall, Room 101.

The event is free and open to everyone.

As minister, Bibeau has refocused Canada’s international assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable people and to support fragile states. In 2017, she launched Canada’s new feminist international assistance policy to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in order to reduce poverty. She is also involved in implementing Canada’s strategy for meeting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development objectives.

Demonstrating its leadership on global health, poverty and gender issues, Canada hosted a 2016 conference on global efforts to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. In 2019, Canada will host the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver

The Winegard International Development Lectureship was created in 2005 with an endowment from former U of G president William Winegard and his family. The lectureship is intended to stimulate discussion of official development assistance and Canada’s role among faculty, students and international leaders.

Winegard served as president and vice-chancellor from 1967 to 1975 and as Guelph MP from 1984 to 1993.

He became Canada’s first minister of science, and chaired the House of Commons standing committees on external affairs and national defence, and external affairs and international trade. Winegard served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade.

He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.