Belgium clears path to developing world prosperity
David Hillman
Monday July 5, 2004
The Guardian
Tony Blair calls Africa a scar on the conscience of the world. Gordon Brown has a means for healing that scar through a doubling of aid. The chancellor says his international financing facility (IFF) is the only game in town, but so far the teams are still stuck in the dressing room.
Currency Tax site launched today
NGOs respond to G8 Action Plan for Africa
NGOs are looking for commitments and follow-through in the following areas:
Bring NEPAD Home for Democratic Debate
Hon. Paul Martin, Minister of Finance
House of Commons
Centre Block, 309-S
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
April 30, 2002
Dear Mr. Martin,
On behalf of the Halifax Initiative, I write seeking clarification as to whether and why the Government of Canada no longer supports the Tobin tax. When questioned by Lorne Nystrom in the House, John McCallum, Secretary of State for Financial Institutions said that he "would commend the government for ceasing to support a Tobin tax because I think it is a pretty bad tax." (House of Commons Hansard, 21 March 2002).
Statement by the Halifax Initiative Coalition To the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (SCFAIT) Regarding the G-8 Agenda
May 14, 2002
We welcome the opportunity to comment on the key themes of the up-coming G8 Summit.
All circus, no substance. Canada's performance in Monterrey to set stage for Kananaskis.
March 14, 2002 – Next Monday, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, will attend the UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Monterrey, Mexico. Today Canadian non-governmental organizations release a letter to the Prime Minister strongly critical of Canada’s role in the FfD process and concerned about implications for the G8 in Kananaskis.
Conference Summary
The citizens-led anti-globalization movement is in its ascendancy, yet risks its credibility if it is unable to articulate an agenda of alternatives to the current economic paradigm. At NGO conferences around the world over the last two years, debate has expanded beyond a critique of the existing economic paradigm and systems to the articulation of the "world we want". One critical component of an emerging vision of global equity and justice, supported by a growing number of non-governmental organizations, unions, Parliamentarians and academics around the world, is the currency transactions tax or CTT.
The UN Multilateral Environmental Agreement /Financial Mechanism
"Taxing Currency Transactions – From Feasibility to Implementation"
Pam Foster
“A Global Agreement towards a United World”, June 1 – 3, 2001, Genoa, Italy
Experience with Currency Transactions (Tobin) Taxes – Debunking the Myths and Building Political Support
by Robin Round, Policy Analyst
The world of finance has become a global gambling casino, where investors seeking quick profits bet huge sums around the clock. Big banks and investment firms are the players, profiting from the minute-to-minute, hourly or daily fluctuations in prices on bond and currency markets around the world. These players are not investing in the `real economy', which generates jobs and produces goods and services, they are investing in the ‘paper economy’ in which money becomes a commodity rather than a means of exchange.
