Letter writing campaign

Write to the Canadian government

Send a message to the Canadian Government: start talking to Africa today

At the Genoa G8 Summit, African leaders participated officially for the first time and presented their plans for an African recovery plan. The G8 promised to make Africa a priority for the 2002 summit, and agreed to appoint senior representatives from each country to work on a concrete plan of action for Africa. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien pledged to start coordinating work on this right away, instead of waiting till the usual sherpa summit preparation meetings in 2002.

The African leaders' proposals involve setting targets for governments to reduce corruption and increase transparency and accountability, in exchange for receiving bold support from richer nations in the form of increased debt cancellation, more aid and trade reform. The Canadian Government, previously a strong supporter of further debt cancellation, now has a vital role to play in driving forward the new Africa initiative so that the 2002 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, is more than just another talking shop.

You can write to the Canadian Prime Minister, calling on him to make sure that the Genoa pledge for a new Africa initiative becomes a reality in Alberta next year.

Welcome the Prime Minister's promise to start right away coordinating work on a plan of action for Africa;

Call on Canada, as G8 chair in 2002, to heed the call of African leaders that deeper debt cancellation is vital in order to break the cycle of poverty in their countries and incorporate this into the Africa plan of action;

Remind the Prime Minister that the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa makes debt cancellation even more urgent, because funds must be released for health services and education to fight HIV/AIDS;

Call on Canada to finish the work on debt started by the G8 in Cologne to bring debt down to a sustainable level: the initiative announced there is reducing payments by a mere 27% per year on average, and does not cover enough countries, so more is urgently needed.

Write to:

Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Suite 309-S Center Bloc, House of Commons, 111 Wellington St, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A2, CANADA,

Or send an email to the Canadian Finance Ministry: pm@pm.gc.ca