June 18, 2003
Mr. Fraser Reilly-King
Halifax Initiative
153 Chapel Street
Suite 104
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 1H5
Dear Mr. Reilly-King
Thank you for bringing to my attention your concerns about how Export Development Canada (EDC) is reporting out on its Compliance Program. As you may be aware, the Compliance Program was in its infancy in 2002. As a result, the Compliance Officer spent most of her time in 2002 establishing operational procedures, implementing, and promoting the Program. The information contained in our 2002 Annual Report briefly reflects the essence of those activities.
Our Annual Report is not a vehicle for the type of detailed reporting that you propose. Annual Reports are by nature a summary of pertinent information on activities during the specified time period. It is our intention, however, to report more information in the future, both through the Annual Report and separately on a dedicated web page. This web page should be finalized this summer and will adhere to EDC’s Board Resolution.
Regarding your comment on actual complaints, two were received in 2002. Neither fell within the Compliance Officer’s mandate. As a result, no further action was taken and a brief report was generated for the Board of Directors as per the Board Resolution of December 2001, the latter whish is posted on EDC’s website.
As for the content of the upcoming Compliance Officer’s report on the dedicated website, the Program does not cover customer service complaints, product concerns or EDC personnel issues. This means that any complaint that does not fall within the scope of the Program will not be reported upon publicly. As well, the Compliance Officer must adhere to EDC’s Disclosure Policy. Any advice given on a transaction that has yet to be disclosed would, of course, not be reported on publicly.
In addition to informal exchanges of information, I understand that in November 2002 Halifax Initiative coalition members met with EDC officials for a detailed briefing on the Compliance Program, and that you subsequently submitted written recommendations. Although, we are not always able to implement each and every recommendation that we receive, your analyses on this and other issues are a valuable part of EDC’s engagement with external parties who take an interest in our activities.
Yours sincerely,
A. Ian Gillespie
Cc: The Honourable Pierre Pettigrew, Minister for International Trade
Ms. Sheila Fraser, Auditor General of Canada