New Report to Parliament on Relations between Canada and the Bretton Woods Institutions Comes up Short

Ottawa - On the eve of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, the Halifax Initiative Coalition released a new report analyzing how the federal government publicly accounts to Canadians on its relations with these powerful multilateral institutions.

Parliament is informed of the activities and operations of the Bretton Woods Institutions through the tabling of the annual report entitled the Report on the Operations Under the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act, which is released annually at the end of March.

Commercial Confidentiality Needlessly Trumps Transparency at Crown Corp, Report Finds

Ottawa, March 29, 2005 'Export Development Canada (EDC) can play a more proactive role in shedding light on key environmental information for the projects it supports, while still balancing company demands for confidentiality, argues a new report by Sierra Legal Defense Fund. The report lays out a framework for enhancing access to information within the financial institution.

Statement issued by Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, on the occasion of the launch in Canada of the "Make Poverty History" campaign, at a press conference in Ottawa, February 11th, 2005, 10:00 a.m.

The "Make Poverty History" campaign is rooted in the conviction that 2005 can be the turning point in the fight to eliminate poverty from the face of the earth. There are one billion, two hundred million people living in absolute poverty world-wide, and nearly half of them are in Africa. From my perspective, the mesh of poverty and HIV/AIDS is the deadliest combination on the planet, and there's not the slightest possibility of confronting poverty so long as AIDS runs its savage course.

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Coalition of Canadian CSOs Highlight the Weaknesses of Canadian Debt Proposal

Ottawa, Febuary 2, 2005 – A coalition of Canadian civil society organizations criticized the Government of Canada’s proposal for debt relief noting it actually doesn’t cancel any debts and only starts to address the needs of the poorest countries.

“The package announced by the Government of Canada this morning won't fully meet the needs of the poorest countries because it only covers debt servicing for a maximum of ten years up to 2015 and doesn’t lead to full debt cancellation at all,” says John Mihevc, of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives and Chair of the Halifax Initiative Coalition.

Report Card Flunks Crown Corp on Transparency
Ottawa, October 25, 2004 – A Canadian coalition of groups hammered Export Development Canada (EDC) for poor transparency on the most controversial and risky projects it funds, the day before the Auditor General is set to release a report on the environmental and disclosure policies of the crown corporation.

“Three years ago the Auditor General identified public consultation and disclosure of environmental information as being essential to a credible review process”, said Fraser Reilly-King, Coordinator of the NGO Working Group on EDC, the coalition that released the report.

Canadian Civil Society Groups Disappointed in G-7 Failure to Bridge Differences  to Provide Debt Relief to the Poorest Countries.

Ottawa – Canadian civil society groups in the Halifax Initiative Coalition expressed disappointment with G-7 Finance Ministers for failing to show the political will to bridge differences and cancel the debts of the poorest countries, but highlight that 100% debt cancellation is now universally acknowledged to be necessary for the poorest countries.

"Even though it is a real disappointment, the momentum is building for full debt cancellation," says Derek MacCuish, Coordinator of the Social Justice Committee. "The G-7 has now recognized what civil society organizations in Canada and around the world have been saying for decades - that the debt of the poorest countries needs to be cancelled."

Canadian Civil Society Groups Call for Prime Minister Martin to Push for Unconditional Debt Cancellation for World’s Poorest

Ottawa – Canadian Civil Society Organizations today sent an open letter to Prime Minister Martin calling on Canada to support full debt cancellation for the poorest countries. Meetings in Washington this weekend around the World Bank and IMF fall meetings may produce a plan to deal with the crushing debts held by the poorest countries.

“Prime Minister Martin, this is a key opportunity for Canada to show the international leadership you spoke of in the lead up and during the last federal election. We hope that the Government of Canada will use this opportunity to secure a lasting solution to the debt crisis facing the poorest countries,” the letter says.

Coalition Welcomes EDC Report, Warns Only First Step for Crown Corporation

Ottawa, September 16 – A Canadian coalition of development, environment, faith-based, human rights, and labour groups today welcomed the release of Export Development Canada’s Second Annual Chief Environmental Adviser’s Report, but warned that this is only a small step towards ensuring greater public accountability for the Crown Corporation.

“We are definitely encouraged that EDC chose to release this report for a second year running, and responded to earlier feedback by shedding a little more light on EDC’s internal workings”, said Fraser Reilly-King, Coordinator of the NGO Working Group on EDC. “But when you have to wait a year to get any substantive information relating to EDC’s environmental transactions, it becomes obvious how far they still have to go.”

Business as usual in more ways than one: NGOs say World Bank looks set to miss an historic moment to show that it can learn from its mistakes

Ottawa -  As World Bank staff return to work for the second day under the chilling new terrorist alert in the U.S., all efforts are being made to ensure that their work carries forward as it normally would. But NGOs are concerned that the World Bank will today decide to carry on with “business as usual” in its oil, gas and mining operations even though a World Bank commissioned report called for significant changes to how the Bank invests in mining and oil projects.

World Bank Sanctions Acres International Limited

World Bank News Release No: 2005/33/S

WASHINGTON, Jul. 23, 2004 – The World Bank has sanctioned Acres International Limited (Acres), a Canadian company, as a result of corrupt activities related to its Bank financed contract associated with the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). Acres was declared ineligible to receive any new Bank financed contracts for a period of three years. This action is part of the Bank’s broad anticorruption efforts initiated by President James Wolfensohn in 1996. More information on the World Bank’s overall anticorruption policies and activities can be found at: http://www.worldbank.org/anticorruption.