12 June 2008

Hon. Minister Christine Lagarde Hon. Minister Giulio Tremonti,
Hon. Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Hon. Minister Peer Steinbrück Hon. Minister Jim Flaherty
Hon. Henry Paulson Jr., Secretary of the Treasury
Hon. Minister Fukushiro Nukaga Hon. Minister Alexei Kudrin

Re: Open letter to G8 Finance Ministers calling for immediate debt cancellation for Haiti

The undersigned civil society organizations from the Group of Eight (G8) nations and other European organizations urge all G8 Governments to support immediate multilateral and bilateral debt cancellation for Haiti or a moratorium on all debt service payments until such a time as the debt is cancelled.

Calling for a "Made in Canada" Proposal Percent Debt Cancellation
By Michael Bassett

This weekend Finance Minister Ralph Goodale will join his counterparts from 20 developed, emerging and developing countries at the regular G20 Finance Ministers meeting. Prime Minister Paul Martin created this grouping of countries in 1999. It stands as an example of the Canadian leadership on the international stage that Mr. Martin has often spoken of, but little delivered since becoming Prime Minister last year.

Ottawa Premiere of the award-winning documentary "Life and Debt"
A scathing indictment of economic globalization

Ottawa - Life and Debt, winner of the Critics Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival 2001, will be shown on the same day as the World Bank and the IMF meetings in Ottawa. Life and Debt offers a clear analysis of globalization and its negative impacts, focusing on the impacts of the World Bank and the IMF on Jamaica. Canada represents the World Bank and the IMF on the Board of Directors of both of these institutions.

This film is being shown by World Inter-Action Mondiale and Halifax Initiative following the November 17th Day of Action for Peace and Justice calling attention to the failures of economic globalization.

Roger Ebert, in a review of this film for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote: "If you're curious about why the demonstrators are so angry, this is why they're so angry."

Multilateral debt initiative, a cruel hoax!
For Release: October 2, 1996