World Bank Group Reports and Analysis

Policy Brief: Canada at the World Bank and IMF – Watching from the sidelines? - July 2008

In 2007, Finance Canada substantially improved both the content and format of its annual "Report on Operations under the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act". Now that the government has finally disclosed its positions on issues, and its priorities looking forward, HI is finally in a position to critique some of the issues covered in these reports. This policy brief addresses some of the most important issues covered in the report, most of which have been a traditional focus of our work.

Report Card on Finance Canada's 2007 Annual Report to Parliament on the BWIs (April 2008)

For the past four years the Halifax Initiative Coalition has produced report cards on the annual reports to Parliament on the World Bank and IMF. In general, the 2007 Annual Report marks a substantial improvement over the 2005 and 2006 annual reports, both in format and in particular, in content. In all, the new medium term framework does a much better job of articulating a more coherent and consistent government strategy for the Bank and Fund, and providing benchmarks against which to evaluate the government’s performance in the coming years. Next year’s annual report would do well to include indicators against which to measure, more clearly, success in meeting these goals.
Grade: B+

Dirty Business, Dirty Practice - How the Federal Government Supports Mining, Oil and Gas Abroad (May 2007)

A new CNCA web site and publication that documents, with case studies, the eight ways the Federal Government supports Canadian mining, oil and gas companies abroad. The Halifax Initiative was a contributing author to the publication.
*EDC letter to HI on the report (July 2007)
*HI response to EDC (September 2007)

Report Card on Finance Canada's 2006 Annual Report to Parliament on the BWIs (April 2007)

For the past three years the Halifax Initiative Coalition has produced report cards on the annual reports to Parliament on the World Bank and IMF. In general, we are encouraged by the enhanced content and format of this year’s annual report. It is a step in the right direction and Finance Canada should be commended for taking this “good faith” initiative. However, the failure to include any clear and systematic indication of goals, objectives and actions for the coming year is still a major shortcoming. As a result, the report provides no benchmarks against which to evaluate the Government of Canada’s performance in next year’s report or to register changing objectives.

Grade: B-

Letter from the IFC in response to "One Step Forward, One Step Back" - September 29, 2006

This letter from the International Finance Corporation's Director of the Environment and Social Development, Rachel Kyte, responds to a number of issues raised in our report on the IFC's new Performance Standards, "One Step Forward, One Step Back", and attempts to set the record straight "as a matter of public record". The detailed response to a number of issues is included in annex 1, with a statement on IFC's approach to human rights in Annex 2, both included here as a pdf.

Report - Analysis of the Finance Report on BWIs - 2005 (June 2006)

Since 2005, the Halifax Initiative Coalition has produced an annual Report Card on the Department of Finance's Annual Report to Parliament on the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act - namely on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Past Report Cards have found that Finance's Reports provide some good background information on the history, mandate and operations of the institutions. However, they fall short on providing the qualitative and quantitative information necessary to provide Canadians with an adequate picture of Canada's relations with the Bank and the Fund, and how our participation within these institutions is achieving our development and foreign policy goals. As this report is, effectively, the only means by which Parliament and the public is officially informed of Canada's relations with these institutions, the lack of information creates a serious gap in public accountability and awareness.

Grade: D

"One Step Forward, One Step Back" (May 2006)

Overview and Analysis of the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy

Moving Beyond Voluntarism - Canada, Mining and CSR (November 2005)

Canada is a leader in the global mining industry, with the almost 60% of the world's exploration and mining companies listed in Canada. The government's response to a landmark report on mining and corporate social responsibility by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (SCFAIT) is weak and inadequate given the severity of the problem and the strength of the SCFAIT's recommendations, and ignores the fact that, "for many communities abroad, these exploration and mining companies are the 'face of Canada.' "Moving Beyond Voluntarism" is a Civil Society Analysis of the Government Response.(November 2005)

Two Reports - Driving under World Bank and IMF Influence (October 2005)

Two reports, prepared in 2005 by the Social Justice Committee, look at the role of the World Bank and the IMF in Guyana and Senegal, highlighting how excessive control of the institutions over development plans undermines democracy and the programs themselves.

The Divisive Demonstration Impact of the Marlin Mine - June 2005

Glamis Gold's Marlin Mine in Guatemala represents the "Company's most important gold asset," and the World Bank's hopes for a poster-child that would set a new standard for "sustainable mining." Yet before operations have even begun, the controversial projecthas become a focal point for protest and has consolidated opposition to mining in the country.

Unpublished Op-Ed The New President's Challenges - Who's Going to Reform the World Bank? (June 2005)

This Wednesday Paul Wolfowitz will walk into an imposing glass and steel building on 18th Street in Washington, D.C. and start his first day in what could be the most challenging job he has ever held. As the 10th President in the 60-year history of the World Bank, Mr. Wolfowitz will have an unprecedented opportunity to help steer the direction of development as we rapidly move towards the Millennium Development Goal targets. But to do so he will have to confound his critics, defy skeptics and dramatically change both his approach to the international community and more importantly the attitude and engagement of the institution he now heads.

Report - Analysis of the Finance Report on BWIs - 2004 (April 2005)

The 2004 report provides some good background information on the history, mandate and operations of the institutions. It falls short, however, of providing the qualitative and quantitative information necessary to provide Canadians with an adequate picture of Canada's relations with them. As this report is, effectively, the only means by which Parliament and the public is officially informed of Canada's relations with these institutions, the lack of information creates a serious gap in public accountability and awareness.

Comments on Bank Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples (February 2005)

The Halifax Initiative Coalition sent official comments to the World Bank's Indigenous Peoples Coordinator highlighting the need for the World Bank to strengthen its draft Operational Policy (OP 4.10) on Indigenous Peoples in order to ensure that it sufficiently meets international standards and guarantees on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Who's Minding the Store? (October 2004)

Halifax Initiative's new paper, "Who's Minding the Store? Legislator Oversight of the Bretton Woods Institutions" examines to what extent national legislatures maintain democratic oversight of the World Bank and IMF. The survey reveals that legislators are inadequately aware, unevenly informed and largely not consulted on issues related to the institutions. The democratic link to bind citizens and institutional decision-makers is therefore fragile, at best.

At the Table or in the Kitchen? (September 2004)

The Halifax Initiative Coalition and the Canadian Council for International Co-operation have co-authored the report "At the Table or in the Kitchen? CIDA's New Aid Strategies, Developing Country Ownership and Donor Conditionality," which seeks to understand the implications of three converging elements in CIDA's implementation of its 2002 policy the agency's reliance on PRSPs to define country priorities for poverty reduction, its support for program based approaches to deliver increasing aid budgets for poverty reduction, and its increased coordination with the World Bank and other major donors in these PBAs.

Impoverishing a Continent: The World Bank and the IMF in Africa (July 2004)

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are the two most powerful institutions in global trade and finance. Since 1980, the United States government which dominates both bodies has used them to economically subjugate the developing world. The World Bank and the IMF have forced Third World countries to open their economies to Western penetration and increase exports of primary goods to wealthy nations. These steps amongst others have multiplied profits for Western multinational corporations while subjecting Third World countries to horrendous levels of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, illiteracy and economic decline. The region worst affected has been Africa.

The Case for an Independent International Development Association (October 2003)

The International Development Association is the arm of the World Bank Group that loans or grants financing to low-income countries. It is controlled by donors and by the World Bank's overall failed approach to people-centred, country owned development.

Submission to the International People’s Tribunal on the Debt (February 2002)

The on-going debt crisis of developing countries is integral to the perpetuation of an unjust economic system, one that concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few.

Going beyond HIPC (June 2003)

Going Beyond the HIPC Initiative: Another Pathway to Achieving Freedom from the Burden of Debt (June 2003).

The Global Environment Facility: The First Ten Years - Growing Pains or Inherent Flaws? (August 2002)

The report offers a succinct overview of the GEF's first ten years, examining some of its history, structure and governance, the conflicting expectations of its participants and the implications of the central role of the World Bank. Co-released with Environmental Defense (August 2003). [ PDF Format]

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