Halifax Initiative

May 16, 2003

The Hon. Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0G2
Fax: (613) 996-3443

Dear Minister Graham:

Thank you for your letter of March 17, in response to the human rights concerns we raised with regards to the Three Gorges Dam, and Canada’s involvement in the project through Export Development Canada. We also received a response from EDC.

You are right to acknowledge the energy needs of the Chinese population, and to observe that relative to the total project budget of USD$24 billion, Canada contribution was minor. But this should not diminish the significance of the USD$165.5 million in financing that EDC provided, nor should it downplay the fact that as the first export credit agency to become involved in the project, EDC set an example for others to follow.

Update on submergence

Alburnus Maior - Bankwatch CEE - Friends of the Earth Canada - Greenpeace Canada - NGO Working Group on EDC -

http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=21228
Chronicles

Mining controversies fly under the radar

By Terry Glavin
Publish Date: 12-Oct-2006

Last month, in Ecuador's Imbabura province, "ecoterrorists" kidnapped seven technical staff associated with the Vancouver-based mining company Ascendant Copper. Two of the workers escaped almost immediately; three were released the following day, and the last two hostages were freed after a four-day standoff, but only after 60 police officers moved in. The result was the arrest and conviction of two radicals from an extremist organization operating in the mountains.