World Bank

Letter to Ministers Flaherty and Cannon re debt cancellation for Haiti - February 1, 2010

Hon. James Flaherty 
Minister of Finance
Department of Finance Canada
140 O’Connor Street 
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0G5
Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
125 Sussex Drive    
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0G2

1st February 2010

Ref: Immediate debt cancellation for Haiti

Dear Ministers Flaherty and Cannon,

We are writing to commend the government’s efforts to date to mobilise emergency assistance for disaster relief in Haiti and for speaking to the urgency and importance of debt cancellation for the country. The call to cancel Haiti’s remaining multilateral debt, including last week’s highly concessional $102 million loan from the IMF, benefits from a strong Canadian voice. We urge you to keep demonstrating such leadership in the government’s interventions at the Bretton Woods Institutions, and at Haiti’s largest multilateral creditor, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Monthly Issue Update - January 31, 2010

CSOs push for Common Approaches revamp
Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are currently reviewing a 2007 Council Recommendation regarding export credit agency (ECA) operations. The Recommendation on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits (Common Approaches) is a “gentlemen’s agreement” that seeks to establish a level playing field regarding ECA environmental practice. CSOs argue that the Recommendation’s impact is undermined by the lack of effective accountability mechanisms to ensure consistent and effective application by member governments.

Definitely NOT the G8

Definitely not the G8In June 2010, the Halifax Initiative launched the first in a series of radio documentary -type podcasts under the rubric of "Definitely NOT the G8" just ahead of the 2010 Group of Eight (G8) and Twenty (G20) meetings in Huntsville and Toronto, Canada on June 25-27 2010.

The podcasts have three goals:

  • to raise awareness in Canada about progressive social, economic and environmental justice issues in the international development and finance arena that are often missing from, or disregarded in, official discussions and the mainstream media;

Gordon Betcherman

Governance and institution - Global economic governance in crisis: new players, new power

Moderator: Gordon Betcherman, Professor, School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa

Teresa Healy

Rules and policies - Raising and retaining funds

Moderator: Teresa Healy, Senior Researcher, Social and Economic Policy
Department, Canadian Labour Congress

Questions and answers and discussion - Tuesday 11:15am panel

Rules and policies - Raising and retaining funds

Questions and answers and discussion

Gerry Barr

Close and summing up

Gerry Barr, President-CEO, Canadian Council for International Co-operation
and Chair, Make Poverty History Canada

Q&A Session

Perspectives on proposals for change - Rethinking the global financial system

Questions and answers and discussion

Government of Canada: 

John Davies

Rethinking global development finance – perspectives from the Canadian government

John Davies, Director and IDA Deputy, International Finance and Development Division, Finance Canada

Government of Canada: 

Soren Ambrose

Rethinking the global financial architecture – perspectives from civil society

Soren Ambrose, Development Finance Coordinator, Action Aid International

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