Mr. Speaker, on Monday morning I represented the NDP caucus at an ecumenical ceremony here on Parliament Hill that called for a jubilee on the unpayable debt of the world's poorest countries, countries that have a fiscal ball and chain around their necks and which need to be set free to seek the well-being of their people.
In the same spirit, a conference in Ottawa this week organized by the Halifax Initiative outlined a six point plan designed to prevent future global financial crises and respond to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable nations.
The plan is a good basis for urgent action on the disaster that unregulated and speculative capital is wreaking upon the world and the unwillingness of existing global institutions like the IMF and the World Bank to seriously address the fundamental flaws of the current situation.
A good start would be for the finance minister to champion an international Tobin tax to help stem the flow of short term capital.