Asia

Letter to EDC Acting President re INCO - October 20, 2004

This letter asks whether EDC is providing financing for INCO's troubled Goro mine in New Caledonia, and offers new evidence about the project including possible asbestos-related problems.

Letter to GE re Three Gorges - November 3, 2003

This joint letter with IRN, written to GE because GE Asia is tendering bids for the next stage of the Three Gorges dam, highlights the human rights, social, technical problems of the Three Gorges dam. It also highlights the obligations of multinationals to human rights, labour and the environment, and encourages GE to abide by these obligations.

Press Release : August 6th, 2003

Papua New Guinea Landowners say enough is enough

Press Responses : Tuesday, November 11, 2003

The Cobwebs on Credit - Every once in a while, a major construction project gets a headline or two in the international press. We read about how the Three Gorges Dam is radically changing the landscape in southwestern China, or about ecological concerns over oil and gas pipelines being built on Sakhalin Island, in Russia’s Far East. What rarely make headlines are the workings of the export finance institutions that make such projects possible...

Press Responses : Wednesday, October 22, 2003

The case against Candu, if only Parliament would talk about it

"Race to the Bottom, Take II" (September 2003)

This report critiques Revision 6 of the OECD Common Approaches on environment and export credits, and documents nine projects (including the Cernavoda2 nuclear power plant and the Three Gorges dam) which have had devastating environmental, social and human rights impacts, and which have all received (or will soon recieve) funding by Export Credit Agencies, including Canada's EDC. The report argues that the Common Approaches did little to mitigate the devastating social, environmental and human rights impacts of ECA-funded projects.

Backgrounder: edc and dams projects profile

Backgrounder: Profile of Negative Impacts of EDC-Supported Dams

"Damming Evidence - Canada and the World Commission on Dams" (June 2003)

The Report asks why Canada, which has a record of financing large dam projects through EDC and CIDA, chose to give $100,000 to support the World Commission on Dams, but has failed to implement its recommendations. The report gives a brief overview of the WCD recommendations, and compares them with EDC and CIDA's policies with regards to the environment.

Press Responses : Thursday, June 12, 2003

Dam promotion draws fire - Canadian support ignores environment, homelessness concerns, coalition says (Globe and Mail)

EDC response re Three Gorges - July 2, 2003

Response in which EDC says that human rights are currently assessed in terms of political risk, but that it will dialogue with NGOs on any future developments, and in which it admits that it cannot guarantee that it would not support companies winning future Three Gorges bids.

Letter to EDC President - May 16, 2003

This is a follow-up letter to EDC President Ian Gillespie relating to human rights abuses in Three Gorges, requesting EDC not to support Canadian companies tendering bids for new contracts at Three Gorges, and asking EDC about the development of its own human rights assessment framework.

DFAIT response re Three Gorges - July 28, 2003

In this letter the Minister for International Affairs again highlights the means by which EDC assesses projects for their social and environmental impacts, and outlines the Memorandum of Understanding between DFAIT and EDC with regards to human rights.

Letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs - May 16, 2003

This letter is a follow-up to the earlier letter to DFAIT about the Three Gorges dam, again raising concerns about the human rights abuses related to Three Gorges in China and Canadian government inaction, and asking DFAIT to clarify how they conduct their human rights assessments of countries.

Press Responses : Monday, April 14, 2003

Canada passes the buck over human rights abuses at the Three Gorges Dam (CBC Commentary). Hear it in streaming audio.

Press Responses : Thursday, February 6, 2003

Damned Canadian dam builders (Ottawa Xpress)

Press Responses : Thursday, January 9, 2003

Environmental details of deals hidden by EDC, Report say: Watchdog groups says lack of information for 7 export agreements is 'unacceptable' (Ottawa Citizen)

"Seven Deadly Secrets: What Export Development Canada does not want you to know" (January 2003)

This report documents seven projects being pursued by Canadian companies abroad that will have negative environmental, social and human rights impacts. It includes a more detailed critique of EDC?s environment and disclosure policies.

Action Alert Archives : January 20, 2003

Eyewitness Report documents rights abuses in Three Gorges Project - EDC involved in funding. Send a letter to Pettigrew demanding proper resettlement measures be put in place before flooding begins.

DFAIT response re Three Gorges - March 17, 2003

In this letter, DFAIT says that while it is monitoring the human rights situation in China, China must respond to the energy needs of millions of people. It outlines EDC's role in the project, and the policies the crown corporation has in place to take account of the environment. It makes no reference to looking into the allegations of human rights abuses and corruption.

EDC response re Three Gorges - February 5, 2003

In this letter, EDC clarifies its involvement in the Three Gorges Dam, which it argues is minor, and gives it little possibility for influencing project implementation and impacts. It also indicates that it was following appropriate (albeit non-existent) environmental policies at the time. No mention is made of the fact that many Western ECAs justified their involvement by saying they could steer the project in a positive human rights and environmental direction.

[1]  2   Next