Madam Speaker, on May 8 I asked the hon. Minister of the Environment and Deputy Prime Minister whether the G-7 leaders at the June meeting in Halifax will discuss the important issue of making the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund environmentally sustainable institutions.
At present, the lending programs of international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary fund, provide mostly developing countries with over $30 billion a year in the form of loans. Too often these loans fail to take into account environmental and social considerations as in the case of dam construction.
Closing the gap between the rich developed nations and poor developing countries must remain the principal goal of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. We all agree with that. However, these institutions and their initiatives in developing countries must aim at alleviating poverty while protecting the environment. That is where the point needs to be made.
In the case of the International Monetary Fund, we feel that instead of relying predominately on economic considerations, economic and environmental goals should be integrated.
As to the World Bank, while it has made some progress toward greater accountability, it still has a long way to go to fully incorporate sustainable development principles into the decision-making process. Furthermore, at every opportunity the World Bank should ensure that the principles of international environmental agreements such as the convention on climate change and the one on biodiversity, to mention two, are upheld and reinforced by its decisions.
It is my understanding that the Prime Minister intends to discuss the role of international financial institutions at the next meeting of the G-7 in June in Halifax. Therefore, in that context I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary whether he can inform us whether the urgency of incorporating the principles of sustainable development into the activities of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will be discussed there.