This paper has three complementary objectives: to examine whether Export Development Canada (EDC) may have contributed to intrastate conflict by providing financing to Canadian companies operating in conflict-prone countries; to illustrate that export credit agencies (ECA) should be seen as a tool for the implementation of a state’s foreign policy; and to assess the relevancy of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations as a tool for conflict prevention. It finds that EDC has sponsored a variety of Canadian companies that have had a considerable negative impact on their host communities, and therefore that EDC has a responsibility to provide evidence that their clients have not contributed to ongoing conflict as a result. It also finds that the Guidelines address many of the means through which multinationals may contribute to the expansion of intrastate conflict and that they can, if taken seriously by both multinationals and ECAs, play a role in preventing further conflict in the future.

Reforming the Financier to Reduce Intrastate Conflict