Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada halts activity at Asian development bank, looks to review its membership

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jun, 2023 02:50 PM
  • Canada halts activity at Asian development bank, looks to review its membership

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Wednesday that Canada will halt all government-led activity at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after a Canadian citizen tendered his resignation from the financial institution. 

Bob Pickard said in a tweet Wednesday that he resigned as the bank's global communications chief because the bank is "dominated" by members of the Chinese Communist Party. 

"The government of Canada will immediately halt all government-led activity at the bank and I have instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of the allegations raised and of Canada's involvement in the AIIB," Freeland told reporters on Wednesday. 

The finance minister said the review would be conducted "expeditiously" and that she wasn't ruling out any outcome following its completion. 

In a statement, the AIIB called Pickard's allegations "categorically false."

"We are an independent multilateral development bank guided by our board of governors and board of directors, and no one state or political party has any say over the strategic or operational direction of the bank," the statement said. 

China founded the US$100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in late 2015 to provide other countries in the region access to capital for investments in projects in areas such as transportation, power and telecommunications.

Canada joined the bank in 2017 and holds less than one per cent of the voting power, in contrast with China, which holds more than a quarter of the voting power. 

According to the AIIB's website, the development bank had 103 members from within and outside of the region by the end of 2020. That included many western countries, such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

MORE National ARTICLES

Man pleads guilty to murder, assault in B.C. library stabbing spree

Man pleads guilty to murder, assault in B.C. library stabbing spree
Yannick Bandaogo pleaded guilty in a New Westminster, B.C., court to second-degree murder, several charges of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault. Bandaogo was arrested shortly after the attack in March 2021 near the library where a woman was killed and six other people were hurt. 

Man pleads guilty to murder, assault in B.C. library stabbing spree

VPD searches for missing man Suleiman Khawar

VPD searches for missing man Suleiman Khawar
Suleiman is South Asian, 6 feet tall, and has a slim build. He has short black hair and a black beard with a mustache. He was last seen wearing a blue button-down shirt over a white t-shirt, black jeans and black shoes with white soles.

VPD searches for missing man Suleiman Khawar

Early snowmelt in Western mountains means drier summers, more wildfire risk: study

Early snowmelt in Western mountains means drier summers, more wildfire risk: study
Snowmelt serves as the primary water resource in western mountain regions, the study says. The ranges store snow throughout the winter, which then melts during spring and summer months when demand for water peaks.

Early snowmelt in Western mountains means drier summers, more wildfire risk: study

Man and woman charged in shooting death of Abbotsford man last year

Man and woman charged in shooting death of Abbotsford man last year
A statement from police says a 22-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were arrested Friday and charged in the death of 41-year-old Chad Colivas. The man has been charged with second degree murder, while the woman has been charged with manslaughter in the March 2022 shooting death.

Man and woman charged in shooting death of Abbotsford man last year

Vancouver police investigating fatal stabbing in city's west end

Vancouver police investigating fatal stabbing in city's west end
Police in Vancouver are investigating a fatal stabbing in a busy neighbourhood Saturday night. They say officers responded to reports that a man had been stabbed near the intersection of Davie and Bute streets in the city's west end just before 10 p.m.

Vancouver police investigating fatal stabbing in city's west end

Shooting outside a South Vancouver banquet hall leaves 28 year old man dead

Shooting outside a South Vancouver banquet hall leaves 28 year old man dead
Police say multiple people called to report the shooting outside a south Vancouver banquet hall near Fraser Street and Southeast Marine Drive at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. They say officers performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived, but he died from his injuries.

Shooting outside a South Vancouver banquet hall leaves 28 year old man dead