Action Alert Archives : January 1, 2002

Action Alert 

We need your help. 

Export Development Canada (EDC), formerly known as the Export Development Corporation, is a publicly-owned financial institution.  Canadian companies can borrow or take out insurance from EDC to support their trade in goods and services abroad.  Some of this trade supports projects that have devastating impacts on the environment and local communities.  For example, EDC was the first export credit agency to support the Three Gorges Dam in China, which is considered to be the world’s single most environmentally damaging project under construction today.  The corruption-ridden project will flood an area 660 kilometres long, and will forcibly dislocate between 1.3-2 million people.  Projects like this one can be found all over the world.

Despite the known negative environmental and social consequences of EDC-supported activities, the Government failed to place EDC under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.  Instead, the Government has required by law for EDC to develop its own Environmental Assessment Policy. 

On December 21, 2001, EDC released an environmental assessment policy, called the Environmental Review Directive (ERD).  Unfortunately, with this new Directive, disasters are likely unpreventable.  It is a very flexible document, written in loose language that leaves much room for interpretation.   

There are serious questions around transparency and the range of environmental assessment processes it allows.  Namely:

• EDC will not disclose environmental and social information collected on all its projects with known significant social and environmental concerns.  This would be required of EDC if it fell under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, from which it is exempted.
• Instead of adhering to one high standard of assessment, EDC has the flexibility to choose whatever environmental standard it wants, with no intention to make these standards public knowledge.  The World Bank and US and Australian export credit agencies specifies a set of standards by which it will assess projects.
• EDC has given itself the flexibility to proceed with a transaction no matter the environmental and social impact. 

Our government and the EDC need to hear our voices!  Please write to the EDC before the end of February, urging them to change the Directive.   

• The EDC, like the World Bank and Australian and American export credit agencies, should adhere to one set of standards to assess environmental impacts of a project. 
• If standards are not met and there are negative environmental and social consequences, Canadian money should not go towards supporting the project.
  As a Canadian taxpayer, I am concerned that our money is being spent on questionable initiatives.  I urge EDC to disclose environmental and social information on the projects it supports.
• The language in the Environmental Review Directive needs to be clear and transparent, so that we can ensure that EDC does not support transactions that will have serious known adverse impacts.  

Address your letter to:  

Ian Gillespie
President and Chief Executive Officer

Export Development Canada
151 O’Connor
Ottawa, Canada  K1A 1K3 

with copies to: 

Honourable Pierre Pettigrew
Minister for International Trade
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0G2 

and/or your MP. 

For more information, contact Mel Quevillon at the Halifax Initiative at (613-789-4447) ecas@halifaxinitiative.org, or consult our website “www.halifaxinitiative.org”.