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January 5, 2001
The Honourable Paul Martin
Minister of Finance
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Mr. Minister:
At its Annual General Meeting in 1999, members of the National Council
of Women of Canada (NCWC) adopted a resolution entitled, "Cancellation
of unsustainable debt of less developed countries", which voiced
members' concern about the effects on the less developed countries of
their increasingly unsustainable debt load. The NCWC has supported initiatives
(such as the demands of the Canadian Women's March Against Poverty and
Violence) and projects which have shown that it is both economically feasible
and socially imperative to cancel the debt owed by highly indebted poor
countries. These debts have a particularly negative effect on women.
Accordingly, I am delighted to write to commend you, Mr. Martin, for your
recent initiatives. We understand that the declaration of the moratorium
begins the process of forgiving the debts of eleven of the world's poorest
countries who have satisfied Canada they will work towards democracy and
the alleviation of poverty, and will not use the savings to finance war.
We urge you to continue to work with the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank to extend and complete the process of debt forgiveness
as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Hutchinson
President
National Council of Women of Canada
cc: The Right Hon. Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister
The Hon. John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Maria Neil, NCWC Convener Economics, President O-C Council of Women
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