The parliamentary budget officer says Canadian foreign aid spending is set to plunge to record lows in the coming years, prompting pleas to the Harper government to halt the slide.  

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is turning to social media in an effort to engage in online diplomacy, practice “open policy development” and improve international trade ties. The government is also looking to Twitter and other social media to retool what it acknowledges has been a “closed” diplomacy and policy model that “emphasized control over information and access,” show newly released federal documents.