More than 3.3 billion people live in countries that are spending more on debt payments than on health or education, standing in the way of sustainable development. In many countries, debt repayments far outweigh spending on climate action and addressing the impacts of the climate crisis. For heavily indebted countries, public debt has grown so large that repayment is impossible, burdening future generations.
Meanwhile, wealthy countries, including Canada, and corporations exploit resources from heavily indebted countries and from Indigenous communities causing human rights violations and severe ecological harm. This creates an “ecological debt” owed to those countries and to Indigenous peoples. This can change.
Public, private and multilateral creditors must cancel or reduce debts, and political leaders must support a multilateral framework for debt resolution.
This would be a transformative shift for billions of people, moving us from a model focused on profit and enriching creditors to one that prioritizes a just society, centering people and the planet.
We, the undersigned, together with people all over the world, call on public, private and multilateral creditors, along with political leaders, to:
OBJECTIVES by January 2026 OUR GOAL: 60,000 signatures CANADIAN GOAL: 100,000 signatures (KAIROS count) GLOBAL TARGET: 10,000,000 signatures (Caritas Internationalis count)
Data updated every Tuesday to ensure that all signatures received online and on paper are accounted for.
Please fill in the form below and click on the SIGN THE PETITION button. You will receive a copy by email.
Get as many signatures as possible on our advocacy message to creditors and political leaders, either on the petition or online.
Let us know how many signatures have been collected in your area by completing the reporting form. After you submit the form, you will receive an acknowledgement email that you should print out and enclose with your shipment. This will help us keep track of the petitions and where they come from.
Hand in signed petitions to your local animator or mail them to us at: Development and Peace — Caritas Canada 555 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 8th floor Montreal, Quebec H2Z 1B1 We will count and collect all signatures and let Caritas Internationalis know about our total to feed the worldwide counter.
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555 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 8th Floor
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Development and Peace — Caritas Canada is the official international solidarity organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis.
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