Letter to EDC President Re: Reporting out of the Compliance Officer in the EDC 2002 Annual report - May 13, 2003

May 13, 2003

Mr. Ian Gillespie
President and CEO
Export Development Canada
151 O’Connor
Ottawa, ON  K1A 1K3

Dear Mr. Gillespie:

Re: Reporting out of the Compliance Officer in the EDC 2002 Annual report

Yolanda Banks, Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor, kindly forwarded us two copies of Export Development Canada’s (EDC) 2002 Annual Report, which we read with great interest.

We appreciate that this year a principal focus of EDC’s public policy objectives was to highlight the existence of its new Compliance Officer (CO) position and increase awareness of the position among different groups at EDC, and among corporations and civil society. The meetings you held and the disclosure of information on EDC’s web site helped realize this goal.

DFAIT response Re: Three Gorges - March 17, 2003

March 17, 2003

Mr. Fraser Reilly-King and Co-signatories
NGO Working Group on the EDC
Halifax Initiative
104-153 Chapel Street
Ottawa, Ontario
KIN 1H5

Dear Mr. Reilly-King and Co-signatories:

Thank you for your e-mail and letters of January 17, 2003, with which you enclosed a copy of the report entitled Human Rights Dammed Off at Three Gorges, concerning the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Project in China. I am also replying on behalf of my colleague the Minister for International Trade, the Honourable Pierre S. Pettigrew.

We have taken note of the allegations in your report and will continue to monitor developments. In its human rights dialogue with China, Canada works to promote improved governance and democratic development. We raise concerns about the human rights situation with the Chinese leadership at every available opportunity.

EDC response Re: Three Gorges - February 5, 2003

February 5, 2003

Mr. Fraser Reilly-King
National Coordinator
The NGO Working Group on the EDC
Halifax Initiative
153 Chapel Street, Suite 104
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 1H5

Dear Mr. Reilly-King:

This is in reply to your letter of January 17, 2003, co-signed by the International Rivers Network in which you express concerns about our support for the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Project in China.

Sign-on to Canadian government Re: Human rights violation of the three gorges- January 17, 2003

January 17, 2003

The Honourable Pierre Pettigrew
Minister of International Trade
125 Sussex Drive
Tower B, 5th Floor
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0G2
Fax: (613) 944-2509/0455

cc.  The Honourable Bill Graham
      Minister of Foreign Affairs
      Ottawa

      Mr. Ian Gillespie
      President and CEO, Export Development Canada
      Ottawa
 
Re: Human rights violations in the Three Gorges Project

Dear Minister Pettigrew:

We would like to bring to your attention the massive human rights violations entailed in the resettlement program for the Three Gorges Project in China. Canada is involved in this project through export credit guarantees granted by Export Development Canada.

EDC response Re: INCO - January 7, 2003

January 7, 2003

Ms. Pamela Foster
Co-ordinator Halifax Initiative
153 Chapel Street, Suite 104 Ottawa ON
KIN 1H5

Dear Ms. Foster:

This refers to your letter of October 23 to EDC President and CEO, Ian Gillespie, regarding possible Export Development Canada (EDC) support for an expansion of INCO's mining activity in Indonesia.  Mr. Gillespie has asked me to reply on his behalf.

We are not familiar with any expansion plans by INCO in Indonesia. We will, however, take your comments into consideration should that circumstance change. Any possible involvement by EDC would first have to fully address the Environmental Review Directive (ERD) requirements for projects of this nature. At EDC, we take our adherence to Corporate Social Responsibility very seriously and ensure that our policies in this area are rigorously applied.

Pages