 
Letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin
The need for leadership on unconditional
debt cancellation
23 June 2005
Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, M.P., P.C.
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
June 23, 2005
RE: The need for leadership on unconditional debt cancellation
See also: KAIROS’ page
on international debt, our analysis
of the G8 Summit's results and the external sites the
Civil Society Statement on Debt and Climate Change and Make
Poverty History. The Civil Society Statement is endorsed by
KAIROS and many other groups.
Dear Mr. Martin,
As you prepare for the Group of Eight Summit meeting at Gleneagles,
Scotland in July, we implore you to reassume the leadership you
once exercised as an advocate for remission of the external debts
borne by impoverished peoples.
We recognize that the most recent proposals from the G8 Finance
Ministers meeting of June 11 have embraced the principle of 100%
multilateral debt remission for some countries. We commend you and
Mr. Goodale for achieving this important breakthrough. However,
this latest plan still falls short of the total debt remission for
all impoverished countries demanded by the 640,000 Canadians and
24 million people worldwide who signed the Jubilee Debt petition.
Leadership from heads of government, like yourself, is still needed.
The Canadian government has championed the principle of “equity
of treatment” for low-income countries that do not qualify
as Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). Regrettably, no non-HIPCs
and only 18 out of 38 HIPCs initially qualify under the June 11
proposal that you will consider at the Gleneagles Summit.
Studies show that at least 62 low-income countries need immediate,
100% debt cancellation to meet the goals of halting the spread of
HIV/AIDS and halving the proportion of the world’s population
living in extreme poverty, hunger and without safe drinking water.
Moreover, to qualify for the G8 Finance Ministers’ proposal
countries still have to submit to harsh economic conditions imposed
by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Many African countries still spend more on debt service every year
than they do on health care or education. With 25 million people
living with HIV/AIDS in Africa alone, how can creditors collect
even one dollar in debt service from these impoverished countries?
We join with church leaders from throughout the world and the global
Make Poverty History Campaign in calling on you and other G8 leaders
to fully and unconditionally cancel the debts owed by all impoverished
countries to multilateral financial institutions.
Under your leadership Canada could broker a deal among G7 countries
for 100%, unconditional debt remission for all impoverished countries
incorporating some or all of the following elements:
· The sale of a portion of IMF gold;
· The use of World Bank loan loss reserves and retained earnings;
· The use of revenues raised through nationally applied and
internationally co-ordinated taxes as proposed by France, Germany,
Brazil, Spain and Chile on any or all of the following: international
financial transactions, arms sales, aviation fuel or airline tickets.
In the spirit of the Jubilee debt campaign’s call for a new
beginning we further call on the government of Canada to ensure
that indebted countries are free to implement their own national
development plans by ending IMF and World Bank Structural Adjustment
Programs.
We also urge you to guarantee adequate financing for impoverished
countries by making a commitment to dedicate 0.7% of our Gross National
Income to Official Development Assistance by 2015.
Finally, we request an opportunity to meet with you prior to your
departure for Scotland. Please be assured of our continued prayers.
Sincerely,
(Fr.) Paul Hansen C.Ss.R
Chair
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
cc.
Stephen Harper, Leader Conservative Party of Canada
Gilles Duceppe, Leader Bloc Québécois
Jack Layton, Leader New Democratic Party of Canada
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