Transparency and the international economy; Cannes G20 postmortem; export credit agencies fail on human rights.

Return of the financial transactions tax

Embassy Magazine, Feb. 16, 2011

By John Jacobs

In spite of Canada's attempt to bury it at the Toronto G20 meeting, a tax on financial transactions is back on the global agenda and gaining momentum.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to use his term as chair of the G20 to reform the global financial system and curb the speculation that contributed to the economic crisis. At the top of his agenda is an international financial transactions tax (FTT) to fund the fight against poverty and climate change.

The corporate responsibilty to respect human rights
Detractors of Private Member’s Bill C-300 (IU February 2009) draw attention to the bill’s treatment of human rights. The bill establishes guidelines for Canadian extractive companies that operate overseas. These guidelines must be met by companies that receive support from Export Development Canada, the Canadian Pension Plan and Canadian embassies. The guidelines are to include provisions based on Canada's international human rights obligations.

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).

Looking ahead - A looming debt crisis? Towards ensuring future responsible lending

Questions and Answers

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Looking ahead - A looming debt crisis? Towards ensuring future responsible lending

Moderator: John Dillon, Economic Justice Coordinator, KAIROS-Canada

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Establishing an Independent Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanism

Oscar Ugarteche, Senior Research Fellow, Instituto de Investigaciones
Económicas, UNAM, Mexico and member of the Latin American Network on
Debt and Development (LATINDAD)

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Beyond a new debt crisis

Gail Hurley, Policy and Advocacy Officer, European Network on Debt and
Development

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Impacts of the crisis and expanding the agenda for change
Jomo K. Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations 

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