York U.'s Business Ethics Program Brings Together Top Business Leaders/Policy Makers to Probe Feasibility of Project to Forgive Debt of World's Poorest Countries

TORONTO, May 28, 1999 -- The Business Ethics program at York University's Schulich School of Business is holding a one-day workshop Saturday, May 29 to assess proposals for forgiving the debt of some of the world's poorest countries. The meeting comes in the midst of a world-wide campaign by Churches calling for debt forgiveness for some countries -- an issue around which the Canadian government has taken a leadership role at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Faith-communities around the world advocate making debt forgiveness a millennium, Jubilee project, noting that the poorest developing countries are now spending more on annual principal and interest debt payments than on such basics as health and education.

The workshop will examine the viability of forgiving the international debt of the world's most-indebted countries from an economic and business ethics perspective, and will look at the Old Testament concept of a Jubilee in connection with debt forgiveness--a biblical injunction to the Hebrews to free the slaves, redistribute property and let the land lie fallow every 50 years.

WHO:

Royal Bank Vice President, Country and Industry Strategies, Kurt Von Dem Hagen

North-South Institute President Roy Culpepper

Finance Canada's Senior Chief of International Finance and Economic Analysis, Bruce Rayfuse

World Vision Senior Policy Analyst Kathy Vandergrif

Professor of Business Ethics at York's Schulich School of Business, Wesley Cragg, will moderate.

WHAT:

Workshop exploring issues such as:

why international debt is a problem

past experiences with debt forgiveness

the options for forgiving debt and their implications for private sector financial institutions and government as well as international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

the implications for economic development of the debtor nations.

WHEN:

Saturday, May 29, 1999, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Emmanuel College, east side of Queen's Park Crescent, one-and-a-half blocks south of Bloor St. in Toronto. Nearest subway stop is Museum Station on University line.

-30-

For further information, please contact:

Professor Wesley Cragg
Schulich School of Business, York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 20686 or
Mary Amati, (416) 736-5809

Susan Bigelow
York University, Media Relations
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22091
sbigelow@yorku.ca

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor, Media Relations York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
sinem@yorku.ca
YU/064/99