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Halifax Initiative
Q&A with Fraser Reilly-King, Project Director
Did you know that around 10% of Canadian aid, roughly $350 million dollars a year, goes to the World Bank? Do Canadian taxpayers subsidize destructive environmental and social practices around the world? The Halifax Initiative, a coalition of 22 organizations, poses these questions when it educates and informs the public about the impacts of Canadian and international funding on developing countries.
What issues about international funding should Canadians be aware of?
The World Bank and the Government of Canada fund private companies for large-scale infrastructure projects that can have a negative impact on the environment and the communities they’re supposed to help.
To satisfy World Bank and IMF lending conditions, countries often have to restructure their own public spending, increase taxes, cut or freeze wages, decrease funding to health care and education, and cut subsidies to farmers. They often have to do so overnight, leading to the collapse of local industries and livelihoods.
How does the Halifax Initiative make a difference?
Thanks in part to our efforts, Canada now plays a key role in deepening debt relief offered by the World Bank and IMF. As well, Export Development Canada, which had no environmental policies eight years ago, has adopted policies to take better account of the environment.
We also produced a “mining map” highlighting 23 Canadian mining projects that were having negative environmental and social impacts on countries they work in. It included information about taxpayer support given to these projects.
