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Newswire on the IFIs
- At sustainability congress, dam builder bars civil society from dialogue
- Austerity a moral issue as it inflicts millions
- With Inga dams, donors set to repeat past failures
- Bangladesh exposes flaws in World Bank's Doing Business Index
- Poverty should not be entrusted to economists
- A flawed 'Doing Business' report
Domestic legislation
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Most Canadians would be surprised to learn that economists from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annually visit Canada to dispense advice. We tend to think of the IMF as an institution that prescribes strong medicine, known as Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), only to less developed countries. In fact our governments regularly follow the same bitter prescriptions. |
This page links to information concerning a number of projects on which we have worked, in solidarity with local communities. In some cases, the projects rely on World Bank funding. In others they involve Canadian companies that may be seeking, or have secured, financial support from Export Development Canada (EDC). Sometimes they involve both. Regardless of the source of funding, in all cases, communities have contacted us because they are concerned about the significant adverse environmental, social and human rights impacts of the projects.
The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights held its first forum on December 4 and 5 in Geneva. The Halifax Initiative spoke at the forum on a panel concerning public financial institutions and human rights. ECA-Watch, CIEL and BankTrack disseminated the attached document at the forum containing analysis and recommendations regarding financial institutons and human rights.
This month we examine 'odious investment' - Mongolia Undermined; (Mis)Investment in Agriculture; More than Bricks and Mortar; and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Presentation concerning the role of the private sector in international development with a focus on new CIDA programming in support of the extractive sector.
Article prepared for the 'Global Capital, Global Rights' workshop convened by SFU and UBC. The text discusses civil society efforts in support of Bill C-300, legislation that sought to create accountability mechanisms regarding the provision of government support to Canadian extractive companies that operate overseas.
Transparency and the international economy; Cannes G20 postmortem; export credit agencies fail on human rights.
On September 15, 2011, the Canadian government's Centre for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibilty held a workshop with John Ruggie entitled, 'Implications of the Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the UN Framework for CSR in the Canadian Extratcive Sector.' The Halifax Initiative participated on behalf of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability as the civil society respondent to Mr. Ruggie.
Canadian mining interests in countries around the world are valued at tens of billions of dollars. Karyn Keenan looks at efforts by local communities to hold mining companies to account for human rights abuses. 'The issue of access to remedy for the victims of corporate abuse requires urgent attention,' she writes.
Keenan describes recent efforts by non-nationals who are affected by Canadian mining companies to seek redress through the Canadian justice system.
See full article in Pambazuka News.
See Spanish version.
Article concerning lack of accountability in Canada regarding our overseas extractive sector.
