Quebec April 20-23 2001 Stop the Free Trade Area of the Americas

Resisting the FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS

Read - Summit Photos & Reports - Quebec 2001
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Other Citizen - News Articles

FTAA - Democracy Western Style

The Quebec Wall by Michel Chossudovsky

Notes on Jaggi Singh's -- IT DIDN'T BEGIN IN SEATTLE & It Won't End In Quebec

Tooker Gomberg, Erin George – FTAA discussion at the Green Budget Veggie Dinner

Thousands March Against FTAA in Buenos Aires

Report – Toronto Protest at the Finance Ministers' Meeting

Prosecutors being used to control protest

Concordia University seeks to purge Student Activists through secret trial!

Ottawa: 87 Arrested, No Text Released at Protest - April 2, 2001

Toronto Artists & Kensington Market Residents – on the Street Against the FTAA

Anti-Hypothermia Tips for Quebec City FTAA Protesters

GET ON BOARD A “FAITH BUS” TO OPPOSE THE FTAA!

Democracy Watch Calls for Investigation of Cash-for-Access at FTAA

FTAA - report on Asian Perspectives and Solidarity Sunday

Mayan Dreams - Chiapas, Mexico

FTAA - Opposing it Every Day - Sat.Feb.17.2001

FTAA Notes - Feb.4.2001 Stop the Free Trade Area of the Americas Assembly Toronto

FTAA - Canadian Nationalists Tackle Globalization  - Jan.30.2001

Non-Violent Direct Action Training

Brief Report on from Protest to Resistance- Toronto Jan.25th, 2001

1…The deal has been negotiated in a secretive undemocratic manner that included corporations and not people and they want to distract us from that fact.
2…They've learned to co-op the good arguments of the protesters and NGOs, but they won't actually deliver any democracy or human rights. All they've delivered so far is a wall to block protest and thousands of cops. Is this a wall of democracy?
3…A weak form of pro corporate democracy is needed to enforce the Free Trade agreement in the 34 nations included. If a dictator rose to power he might not obey the agreement. The corporations prefer a weak and spineless form of democracy.
4…Talk of democracy covers up the fact that the deal is a corporate bill of rights, that uses democratic governments to enforce the rights of corporations over those of citizens.

By Gary Morton
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More from Dave Marshall
The FTAA:  Democracy, Western-Style

 In FTAA negotiations the U.S. has aggressively been pursuing 'fast-track authority,' or 'trade promotion authority,' which would give president Bush the right to negotiate, and have Congress either ratify, or reject the FTAA as a complete package, as opposed to bits and pieces. They want to move the end of negotiations up from the year 2005, to the year 2003.
 The U.S. has had a strong influence on Chile, with whom they have been negotiating a separate free trade agreement. They have also recently been in bed with Argentina, who were considering negotiating directly with the U.S., until Brazil stepped in and wooed Argentina back to the Mercosur trading group, which also includes Paraguay, Uruguay, and associate members, Bolivia, and Chile.
 As leader of the Mercosur trading block, and the only country with any hope of challenging US negotiating clout, Brazil must maintain solidarity with these other countries and needs more time to negotiate and interpret the slick, lawyer language of this complex trade agreement.
 That is why Brazil was so pleased to have Venezuela just last week join the Mercosur group as an associate member, and - at least for now - derail Bush's 'fast track' agenda. Those extra two years will help ensure that Brazil and some of it's neighbors have an adequate opportunity to negotiate a more equal share of the spoils of violent, state-sponsored aggression and commercial exploitation of people, animals, and nature, throughout the Western Hemisphere.
 

 In other trade news:

 A democratic charter is being negotiated by the Organization of American States which would apparently exclude dictator-led countries from sharing in the spoils of violent, state-sponsored aggression and commercial exploitation of  people, animals, and nature throughout the Western Hemisphere.
 Apparently, the rule of law, and respect for democracy are "an essential condition of our presence at this, and future summits. Any unconditional alteration or interruption of the democratic order in a state of the hemisphere constitutes a fundamental obstacle to the participation of that state's government." This leaked draft summit declaration, dated March 26, is watered down from an earlier draft version, dated Feb. 20, which says that a non-democratic government would be an "insurmountable obstacle."

 The OAS are the US, and a group of  lapdog countries to the economic and military might of the United States.

 Meanwhile, Canada's trade minister, Pierre Pettigrew is taking credit as being the true champion of democracy. The FTAA text has become some sort of Holy Grail, and thanks to Pierre Pettigrew, it will soon be in the public domain.
 The public will have to wait, however, until the trade summit is over because apparently it will take that long to have it translated into French and Portuguese.
 Apparently, copies of the text, in two official languages of two countries leading the negotiations are not available.
 Even more astounding is the trade minister's arrogant assertion that text translation is more important than providing to the public, in time for the event, the details of a trade agreement that greatly affects 800 million people, while 34 world leaders and large corporations meet far inside the boundaries of a heavily fortified security zone, barricaded by tall, legbolted chainlinked fences, and thousands of heavily armed security police - a scene never before encountered in this nation in times of peace - to forcibly keep the public far from the proceedings.
 This 'wall of shame' is being legally challenged in a Quebec court. Lawyer, Marc Tremblay is challenging the right of a police force to decide to deny thousands of greatly concerned citizens the right to freedom of expression, and to demonstrate, and to be seen and to be heard by world powers as they divvy up the spoils of violent, state-sponsored aggression and commercial exploitation of people, animals, and nature, throughout the Western Hemisphere

 Apparently, allowing peaceful citizens access to their streets, access to participate in their destinies, and access to protest when they are shut out of the process by force is not what the people's champion of democracy, Pierre Pettigrew, and the masters of the Organization of American States have in mind when they talk about democracy.
 After 87 protesters were arrested last week for peacefully attempting to make public the secret texts, Mr. Pettigrew did not conceal his spiteful disdain for the peaceful protesters who helped force the government's hand in providing some sort of transparency to the exclusive secrecy of the FTAA. He called their action a "lamentable failure," and said, "It's certainly not the protesters who made me appear before my colleagues, trembling, to tell them we have to render the texts public."
 He also said, "I honestly believe that international trade negotiations will be better accomplished when citizens are better informed."
 Apparently, this will not happen, however, until the big event is over, and everyone has gone home, and momentous agreements have been reached -against the will of the people - on how best to portion-out the violent spoils of state-sponsored aggression and commercial exploitation of people, animals and nature, throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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Notes on -- IT DIDN'T BEGIN IN SEATTLE & It Won't End In Quebec.
by Gary Morton April.8.2001

   Jaggi Singh of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) engaged an audience at the OISE Auditorium today … and during his talk criticized the auditorium setup, saying that Solidarity Sundays were originally intended as events where people meet in a circle.

   Known by police in Quebec as a dangerous radical, Jaggi drew another cloud over himself by revealing his split personality. He first took the stage as John Singer, a proud Canadian business man and member of the liberal party.

   Singer gave a fine intro on how the FTAA would promote democracy and create prosperity. Noting among other things, that the text of FTAA would now be released. He then challenged the audience to prove to him that the FTAA is a bad deal.

   People took to the mike with blasts against the FTAA, and John Singer adeptly sluffed all of them off, presenting clever arguments that always shifted the blame for social ills away from Free Trade and the FTAA.

   Once Singer was through, Jaggi Singh spoke on the issue, informing us that Singer demonstrates how the Canadian government can co-op all of the arguments for democracy and social good we come up with.

   He thinks we need a radical break … a whole new train of debate … some real alternative arguments against the FTAA.

   CLAC works to make the link between the alphabet soup of the FTAA and capitalism. And the root of the FTAA is another large attempt by global capitalists to exploit labour, sell off culture, etc.

   As the FTAA is something that shouldn't be done, CLAC sees no room for debate. All that is happening through debate with NGOs is that social policies are being co-opted as tools to strengthen capitalism. So much so that non Governmental Organizations and politicians now have identical language.

   NGOs might want to add labour standards to deals, and global corporations aren't afraid of standards because they are very low and easy to live up to … and in many nations, financially starved local business can't compete.

   Jaggi quoted a person (didn't catch the name) who said that the anti-globalization movement is becoming a sort of white rights movement. We are losing more and more of our very weak form of democracy and losing our social services – so we are trying to get into deals like the FTAA with clauses to save ourselves. And that sort of action doesn't address the big picture or the real problems.

   CLAC feels it is important to affirm our values of genuine solidarity and get beyond the debate of violence versus non violence. This violence debate is promoted by government and the police as they attempt to justify police state actions by claiming many protesters are terrorists. And the debate runs deep into the movement – I know because a report came back to me recently from a person returning from the home of one of the top political stars of the NDP party. That particular NDP guy delivered a long tirade on how he hates Jaggi Singh and how he's bringing violence into the movement.

   In person Jaggi does not appear violent at all and he says that the real violence is Structural Violence created through these agreements. Policies like those of drug deprivation and the displacement of indigenous people are the real violence.

   As for the Summit of the Americas in Quebec – Jaggi says that all of the elements are in place for the police to act in a brutal way.
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Tooker Gomberg, Erin George – FTAA discussion at the Green Budget Veggie Dinner
By Gary Morton April.8.2001

   After the dinner, a scruffy lot of us pushed the tables aside and created a large circle with the chairs.

   Tooker facilitated, John Small filmed the discussion for Independent Media, we went around the circle for introductions … and this news article is the minutes.

   Erin George of the Canadian Federation of Students delivered the key speech, to bring about discussion on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

   Capsule of Erin's talk – The FTAA has been negotiated in secret since 1994. This deal covers the entire Western Hemisphere, except for Cuba … that is 800 million people and a combined economy of 11 trillion dollars.

   Leaders of the 34 participating nations hope to forge ahead at the Quebec Summit of the Americas and get it implemented by 2003 or 2005.

   FTAA has little to do with trade, but is more of a corporate bill of rights, combining the most ambitious elements of every other trade agreement. (MAI, NAFTA, etc.)

   In this bill of corporate rights profit reigns and economic, social, land, education and even subsistence rights are tossed out.

   It is a profit before people deal and it effects everything that is important in our everyday lives. There is no focus on protecting the public good, but there is a widening of the gap between the rich and the poor.

   In Toronto we are experiencing a similar effect to the FTAA through the downloading done by the federal and provincial governments. New priorities are police and the security of the wealthy, while labour standards are eroding.

   Corporations are allowed to squeeze us for every last penny. Educations is phenomenally expensive – 15,000 a year for a medical education, 21,000 in tuition for an engineering course. Then there are massive cuts and privatization of health care, attacks on women and on pay equity.

   These are effects of the same agenda that is pushing the FTAA, affecting us here in Toronto in our daily lives … yet if we think about it in terms of our daily lives, we realize that we can defeat it like we defeated other Free Trade/Investment deals.

   Erin concluded saying the movement is broader, more diverse and well organized in comparison to the past. Yet in the past we did have some success, so we should expect to do better now.

   …….the talk then moved around the circle with questions on lodging, affinity groups, bus tickets, etc. And I list links to info on that below. I asked if it would be possible to camp out with a tent in the protest area and Erin said do that at LaValle University (not sure of the spelling) or the junior colleges.

   The discussion got deeper and perhaps weird and philosophical near the end.

   So that's all for now – see you in Quebec.
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Related Events and links
 The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) - Montreal  (CLAC: La Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes)
http://www.quebec2001.net
For bus tickets from Toronto to the Quebec Summit of the Americas
http://www.mob4glob.ca
For Lodging in Quebec
http://www.oqp2001.org
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Prosecutors being used to control protest – April.2001
   Quebec prosecutors are threatening to quit a special eight-member team set up by the provincial government to prosecute protesters arrested at the Summit of the Americas this month. They object to political interference with the judiciary on the part of summit organizers.
   One prosecutor has already left the team, and others are expected to follow.
   Prosecutors say provincial Justice Minister Paul Begin has directed them to delay all bail hearings of arrested protesters for the maximum three full days allowed by law, as a way of keeping them off the street for the duration of the summit, April 20-22.
   "This is political interference, and we should not stand for it," said one prosecutor who did not wish to be named. "It's a plan of battle to hold them in jail. We will not accept these directives."
   The Criminal Code allows bail hearings to be delayed for a maximum of three "clear days" between the day of the arrest and the day of the hearing. This means that protesters could find themselves behind bars for five days.
   Normally, defendants are processed within 24 hours of their arrest. Often they are released the same day from a police station with a promise to appear in court.
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Thousands March Against FTAA in Buenos Aires – Apr.7.2001
- See Photo
Buenos Aires — Anti-FTAA protesters hit police with Molotovs and projectiles Friday outside a hotel where Argentine President Fernando de la Rua and Western hemisphere trade ministers were meeting with business leaders.
Riot police fired rubber bullets and shot tear gas.
Protesters also smashed bank windows and spray-painted anti-trade slogans on buildings at an earlier thousands-strong march through Buenos Aires.
   "Political leaders, don't come to us with this FTAA, because the FTAA is designed to exploit our people even more," said Hugo Moyano, an official with the Argentine umbrella union General Labor Confederation (CGT), said before the march.

   In other news $35-million will be spent on security at the Quebec Summit this month and Police are now justifying the expense by saying the protesters coming to oppose this undemocratic pro –Corporate agreement are TERRORISTS.
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Concordia University seeks to purge Student Activists through secret trial!
Info from Tom Keefer and Christina Xydous (accused students)
   April 4th, 2001 ---  Two student activists at Concordia University may be expelled for their roles in peacefully opposing the Canadian Army and CSIS for their efforts to clamp down on anti-FTAA dissent.
   CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY (Montreal) - Concordia Student Union (CSU) executives Tom Keefer, VP-Communications, and Christina Xydous, VP-External, have recently had charges brought against them under the university's Code of Rights and Responsibilities following two peaceful student protests which took place in February against the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) respectively for their role in suppressing dissent at the up-coming Summit of Americas in Quebec City as well as their role over the years in criminalizing activism.  Keefer and Xydouss trial date has been set for Thursday April 5th at 5:00pm.
   The two CSU executives have been singled out and charged with creating, or threatening to create, a condition which unnecessarily endangers or threatens the health, safety or well-being of another member or group of members or threatens the damage or destruction of property. Shuld Keefer and Xydous be found guilty they may be fined, suspended or expelled from Concordia University.
   The defendants have in their possession evidence (film, eye-witness accounts, photos, etc.) that prove that the above charge is nothing short of a gross exaggeration and political frame-up for the purposes of ridding the university administration of two of their most vocal critics.
   In addition, the Concordia Student Union has very serious doubts as to the very legitimacy of the Student Hearing Board.  None of the students currently sitting on the Hearing Board were ever appointed by the CSU, a legal right the union gained during the last academic term after a successful accreditation drive.  Instead, the university administration has set up the appointments process in order to chose the jurors who will be involved in this case. Furthermore, the university has refused to open the hearing to the public and the press and seeks to impose strict time limits on deliberations and presentation of evidence.
   Please take a stand in support of students right to protest against the Army and CSIS.  Send an email supporting the charged student protestors to csu@csu.tao.ca or call 514-848-7394 to express your support for the protestors.
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Ottawa: 87 Arrested, No Text Released at Protest - Monday, April 2, 2001
- Students Condemn Jailing of Protesters-
-Government ignores request of peaceful protestors for text of trade deal-

Ottawa - Over 80 people were arrested earlier today for their participation in a peaceful protest at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on Sussex Drive.
   A crowd of more than 400 gathered to demand that the Canadian government release the text of the draft agreement of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Among those arrested were members of the Canadian Federation of Students.
   "The Canadian government has so much to hide in this trade agreement that it would rather allow dozens of people to be arrested than allow the democratic process to take its course," said Jen Anthony, National Deputy Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students.
   "While people must continue to guess what Canada is trading away in the FTAA, the banks and the Business Council on National Issues have copies of the draft text in their hands right now."
   Added Anthony: "The Canadian government is afraid of letting average Canadians know what is in the FTAA deal because it knows that people will hold it accountable to protect our rights and the environment."
   The Canadian Federation of Students and other groups that protested today are concerned that the FTAA agreement is being negotiated in secret by the Canadian government. In particular, students are worried that this far-reaching trade deal has the potential to regulate all aspects of the hemisphere's economy, including the provision of government- funded social programmes like post-secondary education. The Federation's research shows that the FTAA and other trade agreements will result in greater pressure to allow private, for-profit universities in Canada and to open public education up for trade. The deals also threaten to supersede the ability of governments to protect the environment and improve public services.
   The Canadian Federation of Students is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those being held in connection with today's peaceful protest at DFAIT. The organisation also reiterates its call on the Canadian government to release the text of the FTAA to the public.
   For more information, please contact the Canadian Federation of Students at 613-232-7394,
cfs@cfs-fcee.ca:
Jen Anthony, National Deputy Chairperson, cell 613-277-7394
Appelez-nous pour des commentaires en français.
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Toronto Artists & Kensington Market Residents
– on the Street Against the FTAA –March.31.2001

* This report by Gary Morton

   West of the business towers of downtown Toronto, through some side streets, you enter the radically different environment of Kensington Market. Vegetable, fish, used clothing stores – just about everything you need is in the densely packed market.

   Kensington is the sort of neighbourhood that Free Trade deals and the winning global corporations will not tolerate. It exists as a window into a world that isn't all corporate franchises and sterile community.

   Residents are currently upset about a McDonalds being installed on a nearby corner … and when Artists against the FTAA, some local residents and supporters planned a small carnival of protest, they knew the issues were local.

   The demo went well, beginning with the setup of a banner in support of the market on the corner. An information table went up on the street and some of us hit the local residents with flyers while others did some anti-FTAA Busking, Sidewalk Chalking and Radical Cheerleading. A bucket was used to collect donations of mostly coins.

   As a public information effort it was a success. Many people had not heard of the FTAA and took the information. In my own flyering I found black males to be the most receptive. Local resident David Melville already knew many passing people and that helped. Gene Action guy Dwight did well with his handouts on genetically modified foods. It seems that genetically modified corn has become an issue in Kensington as some merchants are selling it without warning to people who are allergic to it.

   The weather, a degree or two above zero was about what it will be in Quebec, unless we get lucky. My observation is that the hands and feet get cold within an hour so it is most important to get thermal socks and good gloves for the coldest times of day. Plus a mat if you want to sit.

   If anything the event in Kensington reminded me that the FTAA isn't really about conflicts on the US/Canada border and violent people supposedly headed for Quebec – as the media would have us believe. The FTAA is really about your local community, whether it can be local anymore …and whether you'll belong or be alienated.

From the Flyer
FTAA - What will this mean for Kensington Market
   With the erosion of small farms, increased control of land by agri-business and the reduction of food availability our choices over what we eat will suffer. Crises around the world show that food safety is at risk.

*  And of the course the market itself will be at risk. If huge multinationals control all the supplies they will eventually buy all of the market for franchises they control.
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Kensington Against the FTAA meets Sundays, 1 pm at the Last Temptation Café, 12 Kensington
416-654-7153
http://www.mob4glob.ca
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Anti-Hypothermia Tips for Quebec City FTAA Protesters

Hypothermia occurs when the body cools down too much because of cold weather or being wet and cool. Quebec City is a chilly and windy area. Remember, most people are outside in the cold weather for less than 30 minutes at a time. Few are out for more than two hours.

Quebec City climate:
April:   Minimum:  -2o C/ 28o F. Maximum: 8 o C/ 46 o F, snow + rain
May: Minimum:  5 o C / 41 o F. Maximum: 17 o C / 63 o F

Prevention of hypothermia & cold injuries:
Keep well hydrated -minimum 2 liters water/day.
Eat energy (calorie) foods to fuel your bodyheat.
Get physically active if getting chilly.
Dress appropriately for long term exposure to the weather.
Adapt the attitude that you are CAMPING -not simply going to a protest. The mornings will be cool or cold - need more clothes layers, the afternoons warmer - need to remove layers to avoid sweating, and the evenings/ night colder- need more layers. It might rain. The police have hinted about using a water cannon.
Carry extra dry clothes. Especially socks and shirts.
Make sure clothes, boots and gloves are not constricting with the layers. That decreases circulation of warm blood,  and can reduce insulation ability of the materials.
If you are going to be immobile, or on the ground: You need extra insulation - both clothes and ground protection. Think about padded hockey pants, foam padding, etc..
Gear consider hand and feet warmers, aluminium space blankets, thermos.
A good hat is a must - we lose a significant amount of heat through our head.

Signs of Hypothermia
-Mild: Shivering. Can't do complex motor functions with hands but can still walk and talk. Skin is cool due to vasoconstriction. Hands numb.
-Moderate Hypothermia: Shivering not under voluntary control . Loss of fine motor control - particularly in hands - can't zip up coat – due to restricted peripheral blood flow. Incoordination. May have: Dazed
consciousness. Slurred speech. Violent shivering. Irrational behaviour - may even undress unaware that s/he is cold. "I don't care attitude" - flat emotions/affect.
-Severe Hypothermia: (Don't let it get this far!)  As it progresses,breathing and heart rate decreases. hen the person looks dead, but is still alive.

How to Assess Hypothermia:
- If shivering can be stopped voluntarily - mild hypothermia.
- Ask person a question that requires higher thought (count backwards from 100 by 9's). Hypothermic person can't do it.

Treatment: This can develop into a medical emergency. The person must be re-warmed.

Mild - Moderate Hypothermia
The best way is by the person's own body heat. Replace wet clothes with dry clothes. Additional layers of dry clothes & blankets to insulate the person against escaping body heat. Increase physical activity.

Get out of cold. Go to warm shelter, car, etc..

Add Fuel & Fluids: Carbohydrates are quick (best in mild hypothermia) & Proteins which gives a slower heat over a longer time. Fats give off heat slower and longer, but takes more energy & water to break
down fat.

Inefficient ways: Hot drinks. Feels better than is effective. Careful not to burn mouth/tongue.

Add Heat: External heat source (warm room). If outside: body to body contact - get into a sleeping bag in dry clothing with a warm person in lightweight dry clothing. Heat pads.

Severe Hypothermia:

1. Reduce Heat Loss:
Hypothermia wrap: Provide a shell of total insulation

2. Add Fuel & Fluids
Warm Sugar Water - With severe hypothermia, stomach shuts down and wont absorb solid foods.

Urination: A full bladder is a place for extra heat loss. You will need to help the person urinate.

3. Add Heat
Hot water bottles, hot pads, etc. to transfer heat to major core arteries - neck, armpits, groin, palms of hands. Rewarm the core body this way only - not the arms & legs. (A hypothermic's blood is shunted away from arms/legs. If peripheral vessels open up, cold acidic blood from periphery goes to core - may cause heart arrhythmias and death.
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GET ON BOARD A “FAITH BUS” TO OPPOSE THE FTAA! – March.2001
   This is a message to inform you that two Toronto-Quebec City-Toronto “Faith Buses” are now being organized so that people of various religions and faiths can travel together to the demonstrations against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) meetings being held April 20-22.
   (See the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice’s “Call to Action” at
http://www.ecej.org/ftaa.htm, <http://www.ecej.org> which also has a list of Quebec City events).
   The Faith Buses are being organized in conjunction with Toronto Mobilization for Global Justice.  The fare is $60-100, sliding scale, and simple accommodation will be provided in Quebec City.  One bus will be leaving at 10 pm on Thursday night, starting the return trip Sunday at noon.  The other bus will leave Friday evening at 10 pm, also returning on Sunday at noon.
   Our goal is to fill both buses (47 people in each) by April 1st - so we need to spread this message around quickly.  So that Faith Bus passengers can get to know each other and prepare ourselves before the trip, we are planning a pot-luck dinner / information session on the evening of either April 5 or 6 (exact location and time to be announced).
   For information and tickets for the Thursday bus, call or email Nathalie
Devaux (416-516-7535 or ndevaux@hotmail.com). <mailto:ndevaux@hotmail.com).>
 Information on the Friday bus is available from Dave Banerjee at Mobilization for Global Justice (416-535-4144 or mob4glob_buses@hotmail.com) <mailto:mob4glob_buses@hotmail.com)>.
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DEFEAT HARRIS! Fight to Win. Ontario Coalition Against Poverty – Mar.28.2001
   OCAP people filled the Hall at 519 Church Street last night as they outlined new cross Ontario Actions and their campaign against the FTAA.
   Details of this meeting and upcoming meetings plus their flyers and sound files appear at the new OCAP web site at http://www.tao.ca/~ocap/
or http:// http://www.OCAP.ca/
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Democracy Watch Calls for Investigation of Cash-for-Access Scheme at Summit of the Americas – March.23.2001

   OTTAWA - Today, in an open letter to federal Ethics Counsellor Howard Wilson, Democracy Watch called for an investigation of the Ministers and other public office holders involved in designing and approving the cash-for-access scheme at the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.  In return for paying amounts ranging from $75,000 to $1.5 million, Canadian corporations will receive, among other things, the right to attend "networking events" at the Summit and, in some cases, to choose "priority seating" at Summit events.
        Democracy Watch believes that this scheme violates the Conflict of Interest and Post-employment Code for Public Office Holders, which requires public office holders (including ministers, secretaries of state, deputy ministers and some ministerial staff) to "uphold the highest ethical standards so that public confidence and trust in the integrity, objectivity and impartiality of government are conserved and enhanced" and prohibits public office holders from, among other things: assisting private entities, and having even "the appearance of being placed under an obligation to any person or organization, or the representative of a person or organization, that might profit from special consideration on the part of the office holder."
        "Giving corporations access to policy-makers in return for money is not only undemocratic, it's unethical," said Duff Conacher, Coordinator of Democracy Watch. "Such cash-for-access schemes reveal that rather than being objective and impartial, Canada's public officials are open to being
bought by corporate interests."
        In its letter to the Ethics Counsellor, Democracy Watch calls for an investigation of the scheme and a ruling about Code violations before the opening of the Summit of the Americas.  Democracy Watch does not believe that Prime Minister Chretien's rationale that such schemes are good
because they save taxpayers from having to pay the full cost of such events in any way aligns with the democratic principles set out in the Code.
        "Saving taxpayers money is not a valid reason for abandoning the important principle of governing with integrity," said Conacher, "The ethics rules exist to prevent such undemocratic behaviour, and we call on the Ethics Counsellor to act with integrity and stop this unethical cash-for-access scheme."
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher, Coordinator
Tel: (613) 241-5179
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FTAA - report on Asian Perspectives and Solidarity Sunday
March.6.2001 by Gary Morton

   On March 4th 2001 Rodney Bobiwash addressed a Solidarity Sunday crowd at OISE in Toronto. Wearing a red jacket and sipping from a water bottle with the corporate label removed, Rodney spoke in plain English.

   Here are a few notes from his talk.

   …Prior to trade liberalization multinational corporations like Coca-Cola and Nike prepared the ground with the homogenization of culture. Corporate slogans, images and jingles replaced our songs and stories and local culture.

   …the struggle against globalization must focus on local culture. Indigenous resistance really began that way more than 500 years ago with the insistence on remaining Indian.

   …In a corporatized world, existing in a local way with our culture and inherited knowledge of plants and animals is a subversive thing.

   …under the FTAA traditional medical knowledge can't be kept by the community. Corporations enforce exclusive rights after they patent herbal and animal medicines. They steal our remedies and give no benefits back to the community.

   …Brazil has the best aids treatment program through the production of generic medicines provided at no charge. Yet action at the World Trade Organization and from the drug giants is working to end Brazil's treatment of aids. The WTO is telling the Brazilian people that they must allow an aids epidemic to rage across their nation so that rapacious drug companies can profit.

   …Free Trade agreements have removed the rights of nations in regards to toxic wastes. When municipal governments in Mexico tried to block toxic dumping from the USA the corporations sued and won.

   … Farming - Indigenous farmers with small lands will lose their practice of traditional farming. Under the agreements they will have to plant Monsanto's sterile seeds. Thousands of years of agricultural history that developed corn and seed will be discarded so that Monsanto's seed can be put into the ground to make it infertile.

   … we face a future where water will be a commodity. The Amazon and the Great Lakes are the largest sources of fresh water. Most of the Amazonian water is in the hands of indigenous peoples and they will fight to keep it. Privatized water has already led to a massive uprising in Bolivia. The corporations call support of public water protectionism or cultural chauvinism.

   … Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien talks about a democracy clause in the FTAA. Yet the FTAA was founded through the Organization of American States - a club of dictators. And democracy means little when so-called democratic states attack indigenous people across the region.

   … Democracy or the Ballot Box now gets manipulated so those with money can win votes. Indigenous people get the right to line up at the ballot box so a majority that lives elsewhere can vote away their local rights.

   … Racism now serves an economic purpose as the border to the south has become a new barbed wire Berlin Wall that keeps peasant workers from heading North. We will not see peace in the Americas until the wall comes down….
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Asian Perspectives - The Asian Canadian Labour Alliance

   Gerard Greenfield addressed the ACLA at OISE. He began by describing globalization as a project and a political process.

   It is a project the corporations created to get out of a profit crisis. Creating new markets does this. Privatization turns things like public water, health care and education into new commodities.

   Political and social barriers are broken down and Free Trade agreements lock the changes in to eliminate risk for global capitalists. Agreements and bodies like NAFTA, FTAA and the WTO/WB form regimes - arrangements of political power between countries and corporations.

   The Free Trade regime locks countries into a hierarchy so that they can't move up. The balance of power prevents the lesser nations from taking the economic steps that the rich nations used in the past to get on top.

   From 1991 to 1995 1035 changes were made to investment rules so that foreign investment would be freed up and national governments would be restricted in actions against corporations.

   In this sense Free Trade is not a global trend, it is a political project. Governments are made stronger, but their new role is to protect the rights of global corporations against the rights of their own people.

   The Free Trade regime is really about moving in and dominating local markets. And they have bought just about everything. The people of Tonga and Iceland have even sold the rights to their genetic makeup to transnational corporations.

   Opposing the FTAA and Free Trade means throwing up new democratically controlled social and political barriers. And we must remember that opposition is not only protests at large trade conferences. We must work world wide to defend experiments in local democracy from transnationalism.

Rights of Women

   … The ACLA also discussed globalization and women.

   …Globalization is not gender neutral. Women workers make up 90 percent of the labour force in export markets. They get less training and lower pay. In many nations they are preferred over men due to a chauvinistic view of women as subservient.

   …Globalization promotes the deregulation of labour markets, and governments often do not attempt to protect the rights of women at all. Maternity rights are removed and agreements must be signed where workers guarantee that they won't get pregnant. Amphetamines are provided to make women work longer and some factories prefer lesbians, under the false belief that they won't get pregnant.

   …Women still have to do the domestic work at home after work. And because globalization makes it possible for governments to avoid providing social services, women must provide these on their own.
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Mayan Dreams - Feb.24.2001
Chiapas - notes on the film and discussion "Dreams and Words of Wisdom from the Tzotzil and Tzeltal Communities (Chiapas, Mexico)."
- Read the full report by Gary Morton
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- What's New at WTOWatch.org - March 02, 2001
- FTAA threatens all workers in Americas. Mumia's Story
- Italian Police Block Protesters at G8 Talks
- Canada mounts biggest-ever security operation for Summit of the Americas
- IMC conference in Quebec City
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FTAA - Opposing it Every Day - Sat.Feb.17.2001
(Brief notes on Free Trade Across the Americas - Responding to the Human, Environmental & Spiritual Threat)
By Gary Morton

Toronto: Let me begin with a couple of personal observations. There is much talk about the FTAA deal being undemocratic, which has led some groups to ask whether there is any democracy in the first place. In Canada, especially Toronto, we need a new explanation of democracy.

   Politicians at the local level, provincial level and federal level will not engage in any meaningful dialogue on strengthening democracy. Steps to erode the democratic system have been taken at all three levels.

   Democracy here is now an underground movement of the people. With no hope of reforming the system, citizens are keeping democracy alive in the social justice movement by turning their own meetings, gatherings and affinity groups into circles of democracy that allow everyone to participate, speak and vote.

   At today's meeting Anna Dashtgard said there are meetings every day in Toronto as we approach the late April Quebec City FTAA summit. Nearly all of these are openly democratic. They include just about every politically oriented group and individual in the province, and that's a heck of a lot of people power mobilizing to create the anti-Globalization forces as the Canadian movement for democracy.

   The liberal government in Ottawa and intelligence groups like CSIS are only reacting by preparing a huge police response. Much of it focussed on anarchists and people they see as international agitators. They are not at all prepared for the huge and growing Canadian movement against the FTAA.

   A lot of activity will take place at local levels here, especially through people who can't get to Quebec and older people who are afraid to go because of the police threat. And even the police threat is muted by the fact that many of those attending will have been trained in non-violent direct action.

   If things continue at this pace the anti-FTAA campaign will be the largest Canadian political movement since Quebec separatism.

   Today's meeting at the Quaker Friends House was addressed by Anna Dashtgard (Common Front on the WTO) and John Dillon (Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice). A video "Bye Bye World" was shown.

   An early announcement from people present revealed that Canadian Parliament is debating releasing the draft FTAA text. The Bloc Quebecois has moved a motion asking for the draft of the FTAA to be brought before parliament. The motion will be voted on next Tuesday night, February 20,2001. Meetings are being held to organize a blitz of Members of Parliament and to fill the public gallery in Ottawa.
Contact the Canadian Federal Gov - http://www.interlog.com/~cjazz/pol.htm

Here are a few rough notes from Anna's talk.

A Biblical comparison

Day One - In the beginning the Word was Globalization.
Day Two - The organizations of globalization - The World Trade Organization, The World Bank, The International Monetary Fund and so on were created.
Day Three - The agreements of globalization were created - GATTS, MAI, NAFTA, FTAA and so on.
Day Four - The new laws and regulations became active and governments were sued for attempting to protect their citizens from the bad effects of the agreeements.
Day Five - Secret panels of bureaucrats were created to rule on the laws of nations.
Day Six - The air was poisoned, the water was polluted. People saw their loved ones and children dying and their voting power traded away.
Day Seven - The people revolted.

   Like every other speaker, Anna notes that the big winners in the FTAA will be multinational corporations and investors.

   The FTAA fits as a key piece in a jigsaw puzzle of agreements. Its part of the picture is an extension of NAFTA to 34 other countries and 800 million people. NAFTA features clauses that hand national powers away to investors and corporations. The FTAA will enhance these clauses and apply them to services. This introduces them for the WTO and GATTS (Agreement on Trade and Services).

   Only the military and banking will be excluded, meaning every form of business including things like health care, agriculture, education and public utilities will be open to privatization and ownership and control by transnational corporations that can sue any government that opposes them.

   The FTAA is a Beast that will privatize and own every aspect of our lives.

   In John's talk he pointed out that the FTAA will cover 800 million people. 150 million people will be consumers that provide a market for increased profits, while 650 million people will be a pool of cheap labour earning less than subsistence wages.

   The reason for so many of these international free trade agreements is that corporations and investors want the system set up so that if they can't win what they want in one sphere, they can win it in another.

   John points out that the biggest losers under NAFTA were the peasant farmers in Mexico. They lost their farms and were turned into 2-dollar-a-day slum workers. Currently under NAFTA, the majority of children in Mexico are suffering physical and mental problems.

   Trade figures under NAFTA do look rosy but transnational corporatigns are the ones profiting. The Federal Government in Canada is talking about a democracy clause for the FTAA, but read the fine print. The devil will be in the details and the fine words in the preamble won't stand up in court.

   Protesters in Quebec City in April will be creating a Freedom and Truth Area of the Americas as a sort of safe zone from corporate and government lies.

   A couple key notes from the video "Bye Bye World".

   - For every dollar of Global Trade there are a hundred dollars of costs for Third World Nations.
   - By the year 2025 two thirds of the world's population will be in total or partial water deprivation. Global agreements are depleting our supplies of clean water that quickly.
--------

The END - There should be a future for everyone, yet the FTAA and multinational corporations will leave 650 million people without a future. They will be the starving, the dying, the poisoned - a world of the walking wounded.

   The FTAA does create a limited future for profits and people labelled consumers. But that future only lasts until our resources are depleted and the paper economy burns.

More info: Michael Polanyi 416-690-0079. (Peace & Social Action Committee, Toronto)
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Parliament debates Releasing FTAA -  Fri, 16 Feb
From: Connie Fogal <cfogal@attcanada.ca>
   On February 15, 2001 in Parliament, The Bloc Quebecois moved a motion asking for the draft of the FTAA to be brought before parliament. The motion will be voted on next Tuesday night, February 20,2001. Contact your MP today to  demand  he/she vote  for the motion so that they and we will
know what is really going on and so that they will reflect the hopes of their constituents.
Blitz your contact system and let's blitz our M.P.'s.
Ottawa citizens should fill the gallery that day too.
Connie Fogal
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Quebec City: Police Crackdown Begins - Feb.11.2001
A - I N F O S N E W S S ER V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/

On Rue St. Jean in Quebec City on Sunday, three young people were arrested by two plainclothes officers of the Surete Municipale. Their apparent crime? Handing out pamphlets denouncing threats to our freedom of speech and the unprecedented attack on civil liberties represented by the 5-kilometre security perimetre being set up for the Summit of the Americas this April.

The Quebec police and Mayor Jean-Paul L'Allier hastened to apologize and explain away the "error" after the affair hit the city's newspapers. In no way, they said, did they intend to limit the three young activists' right to freedom of expression. The two officers simply misunderstood a municipal bylaw.

You'll have to excuse my skepticism. The incident is one small part of an escalating pattern of intimidation and harassment of activists planning to demonstrate opposition to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which is to be the subject of closed-door negotiations at the Quebec City summit.

In any case, the pamphlet affair is far from isolated. On Jan. 23, Quebec police officers confronted members of the coalition Operation Quebec Prin- temps 2001 while they were passing out the very same pamphlet in the city's Place d'Youville. In a bizarre bit of legal reasoning, the officers told the activists that any group of people numbering more than two would be subject to arrest for unlawful assembly.

CSIS Making Rounds

This paper broke the news Jan. 18 that Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents have been paying visits to activists caught up in the MUC police's mass arrests of demonstrators at the G20 meeting outside the Sheraton hotel last October. Though they have yet to be convicted of any crime (most of the 50 arrested are awaiting trial on the catch-all charge of unlawful assembly, which is being challenged as unconstitutional by lawyer Julius Grey), CSIS obviously considers their activism to be a security threat. Indeed, it said as much in a report on the anti-globalization movement released last summer. In this case, the spy agency refused to confirm or deny the visits, but I've spoken to one activist who tape-recorded his interview with the two agents who visited him at his doorstep.

The RCMP is getting into the act. Social-justice organizations such as Development and Peace (an arm of the Catholic church) and Alternatives (funded by the Canadian International Development Agency) have reported visits by RCMP officers asking what they were planning for the summit. Also paid a call was Robert Jasmin, president of the Association pour la Taxation des Transactions Financieres, who told La Presse he sees the visits as an attempt to discourage political activity around the summit.

Call me naive. But I'm still disheartened every time I see our police and security forces so willing to perform political repression at the behest of the federal and provincial governments.

Learned Nothing

The Chretien government has obviously not learned a thing from the long and politically embarrassing inquiry into RCMP abuses during the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Vancouver just over three years ago. But isn't there some officer down the chain of command who is willing to stand up and say, "This is wrong. This contravenes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This goes against everything that taking an oath to uphold the laws of our land stands for." Indeed, is there no one in Jean Chretien's cabinet or caucus with the courage to inform him that Quebec City is not Qatar, the fundamentalist police state which will host the next meeting of the World Trade Organization?

The Comite Populaire Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which produced the pamphlets the Quebec City police find so objectionable, is a 25-year-old group that advocates on behalf of the homeless and for social housing, activity that in the eyes of authorities now apparently constitutes a threat to national security. Many of the group's clients live inside the summit security perimetre and will find themselves displaced by the Chretien government's de facto imposition of martial law. Thus, last Sunday, about two dozen members of the group were staging street-theatre scenes in groups of three, each with their own homemade "security perimetres," and distributing the famous pamphlet.

"It's very, very ironic," said Comite spokesman Nicolas Lefebvre Legault. "The pamphlet talks about the right to demonstrate, freedom of expression and the freedom of movement. The fact that they were arrested for distributing this pamphlet tells us that we're not completely paranoid in talking about attacks on civil liberties."

LYLE STEWART Freelance
--------
FTAA Notes -  A few notes on the Feb.4.2001 Stop the Free Trade Area of the Americas General Assembly in Toronto.

   This General Assembly of all interested anti-FTAA groups was at OISE - Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Organizing for the April 20-22, 2001 protests of the Quebec City "Summit of the Americas". The meeting was packed.

   I was not at the actual strategy meetings but was there from 10 to noon and later for Naomi Klein.

   It's 766 kilometres from Toronto to Quebec City. Quebec City is about 250 kilometres past Montreal. That's an 8 or 9 hour drive.

   The weather can be cold in Quebec in late April. Prepare for plus 5 Celsius in the daytime and it could go below freezing at night. Industrial space for sleeping can be booked through mob4glob Toronto which is listed below. You might also want to take a tent as there may be a mass tent city action.

   Cell phones will be jammed in Quebec City and delegates will have special communications devices. Only corporate media will be allowed inside the security perimeter. Independent and other media must stay outside.

    The April 20th Day of Action will be comprised of different events at different times. Protest groups may be divided into Green, Yellow and Red Blocks. Red is for direct action people. Yellow for sit-ins and so on. Green for the most tame groups.

   Naomi Klein's talk was on moving from an anti free trade to a pro democracy movement.

   She said George W. Bush's speechwriter is David Frum and the summit is largely a photo op for the leaders. It is to be a diplomatic shining moment for Bush.

   Naomi calls agreements like the FTAA the privatization of life itself. The current movement by opposition groups is to get things - like say water privatization - taken out of the agreements. In the past some NGOs wanted to add environmental pacts and labour rights and so on to them.

Here are some other key web pages
Stop the FTAA org
http://www.stopftaa.org/
Centre for Media alternatives is at http://www.cmaq.net/
Mobilization at OQP 2001's Web site
http://www3.sympatico.ca/serge.foisy/oqp_2001/anglais/
Toronto - http://www.mob4glob.ca
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FTAA - Canadian Nationalists Tackle Globalization  - Jan.30.2001
(Free Trade Area of the Americas article)
By Gary Morton

   There were two large meetings in Toronto tonight on globalization issues. Tooker Gomberg for the Greens and Dwight Lyons of GeneAction addressed the International Socialists. The meeting being titled OUR WORLD IS NOT FOR SALE: FTAA & How Capitalism Destroys the Planet. I was supposed to attend this first meeting, and the reason I didn't make it is interesting.

   Last night I camped out with Tooker at City Hall. This was to support the homeless down there. In the end I froze my feet, and because of soreness didn't want to travel to the socialist meeting.

   Homelessness in Canada is an effect of globalization policies. Housing has been downloaded to the City of Toronto, and the city is deeply in debt due to forced municipal amalgamation, another globalization policy.

   Negative policies continue to accelerate. In the morning after our campout, Ontario's Grand Wizard for the globalization mob, Premier Mike Harris, sent two of his men down for a press conference. Their announcement to the media was to the effect that Toronto has no debt problem. Their solution being that we sell off all of our assets. Currently Harris' provincial government skims 5 billion dollars off of Toronto taxpayers every year - money that doesn't come back.

   I did attend the second meeting, called FTAA, GATS, THE BANK ACT with Paul Hellyer & others.  This was put on by Jean Smith and People Against the MAI and it was around the corner from where I live.

   I ended up walking in with Paul Hellyer and here is some background on him. He used to be a liberal and in the federal government. At that time he worked to create a national housing policy. The same housing policy that the forces of globalization have killed. Paul is now head of the Canadian Action Party, which is composed of economic nationalists. They oppose neo liberalism and are to the left of Canada's major political parties. CAP, the Greens and the New Democrats pose the only opposition to globalization here at the federal level. There is some opposition in the Conservative Party through David Orchard.

   Hellyer said, "A world without borders is like a zoo without cages."

   Here is a capsule of his talk.

   He says we just came out of an unwanted election with an unwanted result, and he finds no comfort in today's federal level throne speech. It was 59 minutes of platitudinous fluff. It reveals that our government is determined to sell our sovereignty and unless we change course there will soon be no Canada. It is self evident that we are losing our country. Since Free Trade came in 23, 000 companies have been sold off and the sellout is increasing exponentially.

   We lose five or six companies a week and the research and development and other good things that come from having Canadian based companies. This erodes the tax base as foreign companies pay less tax.

   Issues we must fight together are the FTAA and WTO changes that are almost as alarming. If we don't stop the trend to globalization for-profit health care and education will have open season here. All of the banks will fall under foreign control - and that is happening now with the bank act the liberals have created. Open agriculture will completely destroy our family farms and way of life. We will be dependent on foreign corporations for financing, food, seeds and so on.

   We are about two years away from the point of no return. Then we will face annexation as global powers take over. The Canadian flag may remain for another fifteen years or so but it will have no meaning.

   Hellyer wants to force debate on these issues in the House of Commons. And he feels we need to unite the opposition into a new political party (a prince or princess in waiting as he calls it) that will form a credible alternative to the liberals. The new party would oppose globalization and understand monetary theory.

   He also feels that we should continue to pursue legal challenges on all fronts to block globalization and pursue the political challenge and get these issues before the Canadian people. First making sure that they understand that these agreements are not about trade, they are about investment that favours global corporations.

   Christine Ellwell of the Sierra Club of Toronto also spoke and she noted that the club here is focussing strictly on the Peoples Summit and alternative workshops with people from all of the nations involved in the FTAA. The Sierra Club is calling for submissions so they can build a peoples case for environmental protection in all venues.

   Christine also noted that the powers behind the FTAA are a very closed group. Very little effort has been made to co-op NGOs. There are very few NGO reps invited to the FTAA meetings.

   It seems to fit the pattern. Paul Hellyer says the FTAA is an Arctic to Antarctic agreement that will work to remove democratic decision making in all of the nations included.

Contact:
Jean Smith and People Against the MAI
416-535-6605 jsmith@chem.utoronto.ca
and protest the FTAA in Quebec on April 20-23rd.
--------------

Non-Violent Direct Action Training
(as applied to the FTAA and elsewhere)
Saturday January 27th 2001

* Also see TransACTION  MARCH 16TH TO 18TH, TORONTO workshops & training for the Quebec City protests against the FTAA in April, 2001 & for the struggle beyond.
http://www.mob4glob.ca/trans.html

   Matthew mentioned that FTAA protesters would be getting similar courses for the Quebec action, taught by him and others. His particular course covers all areas from organizing to bail and court. I'm not going to attempt to write a 50-page document covering it all. This write-up is just on a few key points.

   You shouldn't be out there protesting without a reason, and Behrens arrives with printouts of philosophical tracts on protest and social justice. Essays and quotes from Thoreau, Zinn, Deats and others.

   We did briefly discuss the FTAA organizing and Matthew's opinion on that was somewhat different from some of the main protest organizers. In a 'Brief Report on the from Protest to Resistance' rally held by OCAP/ARA in Toronto, I note that FTAA organizing groups CLAC and CASA say that they do not decide or say what actions are acceptable and what actions are not. Jaggi Singh (jaggi@tao.ca) says a diversity of tactics and solidarity with various groups is needed - a sort of Unity through Diversity thing. On the question - should we be violent or non-violent?  One speaker at that meeting said, By any means necessary. This is the first stage of a revolution. We go all the way this time. We don't want anything from the federal government. We want a whole new society. No reforms, we want to wipe this corrupt system out of existence. People are fighting because they have no choice. They are fighting to survive ….

   Matthew Behrens had a different position on that. He believes in unity but also that everyone in the movement attending the protest has a right to know exactly what actions will be taken and which groups may be rougher in their tactics than others. Accountability, and how accountability is addressed is a question when some groups plan openly and others plan clandestinely. Diversity of tactics is fine, but everyone has a right to know what to expect, otherwise the actions of one group might negatively impact on another. Matthew favours a tight affinity group model, where every person plays a role. Affinity groups are the many small satellite groups that make up larger groups at a protest action. In these groups everyone is assigned a different task. There might be artists, a media spokesperson, people with medical training, a person off the protest site who holds contact sheets in order to aid those who are jailed, and so on.

   CLAC and CASA also support the affinity group model. The opposing model would be large protest groups commanded by a few leaders. Such groups are easily infiltrated by police agents and misdirected. Large poorly organized groups might decide to fight, but they will not survive.

   On the question of revolution and going all the way, I noted that the problem we have in areas like the FTAA, Capitalist Free Trade or even Genetically Modified Foods is that the masses either don't fully understand the issues or else they have been brainwashed by the media. There will not be any revolution or any change of attitude unless our message gets through to the masses. A bunch of desperate people trashing things in Quebec will not necessarily get that message through, and they will not kick start any revolution, they will just get beat up by the police. Real strategy means changing the views of the public at large so we can organize them and free the world. The question is how to do that?

   So you might say that a large part of what is called diversity of tactics in the protest movement is really an argument over what constitutes violence and whether violence is at all acceptable. And violence isn't always vandalism. There are people at large protests that are violently non-violent and want to pick fights with those using tactics they do not approve of.

   Here are a few tips from Matthew.

   If you sit you won't be trampled by police horses. The animals will go around you, and when they walk up close you can touch their legs gently with your hand to guide them away.

   Pepper spray - Don't use soap or oils or other stuff that absorbs chemicals. There is a special soap that removes oil from the skin, and you can use it before protesting. Wear clothes that will repel chemicals not absorb them and carry a bottle of water with you. Wash pepper spray from the eyes, skin and hair with cold water. Don't take a hot shower as that will open the pores and put you in pain. Some medical people use cottons and mineral oil to swab pepper spray off the skin bit by bit.

   There are a number of tactics you can use to avoid being physically hurt when police arrest you, cuff you and drag you off. You must attend the course to learn them and the long arguments on legal stuff and jail. Matthew says that you can't prepare yourself for jail, it is always upsetting. He recommended sitting in a closed toilet stall for an hour to get the idea of the agonizing boredom. Also understand that police are going to lie to you all of the time that you are in there.

   On withholding your identity - Matthew says Canada is different from the USA. If you won't give your name as part of a jail solidarity action they simply hold you in custody until such a time as you do. Some release conditions might be softened due to group pressure.

   Police at protests expect you to behave in certain ways. Protesters who use original and unexpected non-violent tactics throw the police off, leaving them confused as to what to do. So be original and don't just chant and do everything they expect.

   The course also involved some practice in arguing with authority figures, and acting out a demonstration. I played the role of a police officer to get an idea of how police feel. It was not how I expected to feel and we found that male and female police have different motivations.

   Police and the establishment divide protesters into four categories - Opportunists, Radicals, Idealists and Realists. Their strategy over time is to isolate the radicals and turn the idealists into realists. Realists will make tradeoffs that weaken the movement, and the opportunists will accept the final policy decisions.

   Which of the four are you and at what stage?

  And that's about it for this article …. 'nuff said.

This report by Gary Morton for the http://citizensontheweb.com FTAA page.
http://www.interlog.com/~cjazz/ftaa.htm

Contact Homes not Bombs
Matthew Behrens
416 651 5800
email tasc@web.ca
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Brief Report on from Protest to Resistance- Toronto Jan.25th, 2001
A Radical Look at the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

   This event was put on by Anti-Racist Action Toronto, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and FTAA protest organizers. About 200 people showed to hear a number of speakers, see some short films and answer a few questions in regards to the upcoming FTTA protest in Quebec April 19 to 23.

   Since media outlets seem to be phoning me every day looking to contact people mentioned on my web site, I have kept the list of speakers and contact info at the bottom of this post. Perhaps some reporters will read this and be inspired to write something different in Quebec in April.

   Here are my rough notes, put out as a long a list of bites. They are not quotations or as accurate or eloquent as the original words. They cover some of the ideas expressed and the gist of them is that groups like the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Anti-Racist Action, Colors of Resistance, The Anti-Capitalist Convergence, and Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee don't hold the same beliefs as globalization protesters.

 … The State can't be relied on to negotiate global agreements because the State is designed to protect corporations….

… Anti-Racist Action does not follow the economic nationalist line. (* They see the dangers in nationalism and racism that emerges from it.)

… ARA supporters favour international trade based on the local physical nature of the world's people … with workers gaining the full benefits of their labour.

… ARA supporters believe we must simultaneously fight racism and capitalism.

… Fernando of Food for Chiapas mentioned how many groups go to Chiapas to help them. Doing things like installing toilets or something then leaving without ever attending ceremonies or participating in the culture. He says the people of Chiapas don't want help, they want people who come and stay and understand….

… Chiapas is considered a key example of a people fighting against the powers of a corrupt global system.

… Sue said that in Toronto every single night 5000 people bed down on pavement. We know damn well that globalization is here.
   She also mentioned OCAP trying to help a tenant being evicted for being two months behind in rent. He killed himself before they got to him. Then there was a woman named Amina, whose two daughters were sent back by our government to face female circumcision and desolation in a country with no social supports. Enforcement officers took Amina into custody and left her five children alone and watching. She also mentioned Mohawks, and their struggle to toss the structures of the Canadian government like bridges and towers off of their land. All the above is globalization to Sue, and she says - That is what we are Fighting.
   Sue says Premier Mike Harris has turned Ontario into a major force of globalization, and OCAPs presence in Quebec will also be about targeting and taking out the Ontario Government. Quebec will be used as an organizing and planning ground for what comes next.

… The FTAA will further victimize 500 million people of colour in South America.

… Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) fail to address white supremacy. They like to mention that we are losing citizen power and democracy at a time when democracy doesn't really exist anyway.

… There is systematic oppression based on class, race, etc. Cheap labour and globalization are the same thing.

… There has been an increase in overt racist acts … tip of a growing iceberg of racism stemming from polarization … marginalization of the poor and refugees.

… Capitalism not globalization is the real problem … we need a broad multiracial movement truly aimed at taking out global capitalism….

…. Helene says police in Quebec have engaged in a six-month campaign of threats and intimidation. Police announce new security measures daily. The RCMP knocks on the door of every organizer and activist. The fear campaign is intended to scare the people of Quebec and to put activists against one another.

… There was mention of some NGOs and groups being almost violent in their demands for absolute peaceful non-violent protest. But CLAC and CASA do not decide or say what actions are acceptable and what are not.

… Jaggi say Canadian Intelligence (CSIS) has been visiting door to door in Quebec. He also says the movement has big problems and he questions whose movement it is. He sees genocide against indigenous people and genocide against blacks in the USA. NGOs have in his view bought into some bad ideas. He doesn't think our society is synonymous with NGOs and he doesn't think the working class is synonymous with union leaders. Jaggi says a diversity of tactics and solidarity with various groups is needed. When the poor or oppressed rise up and do some damage, he feels that NGOs and others in the movement should not be rushing forward to condemn them as violent.

… he quoted Shawn Brant as saying the Action is in the Organizing. It isn't just about Quebec, the action is right now … and every day, I suppose. He doesn't like to talk about the politics of resistance but of the politics of liberation.

… Lorenzo says we can make it simple by seeing the leaders at things like the FTAA as a gang of international gangsters … sitting around planning on how to police the world and how to starve people to death.

… On the old question - should we be violent or non-violent? Lorenzo says, By any means necessary. This is the first stage of a revolution. We go all the way this time. We don't want anything from the federal government. We want a whole new society. No reforms, we want to wipe this corrupt system out of existence. People are fighting because they have no choice. They are fighting to survive …

and you have to join them.

Report by Gary Morton

Contact info on the above event
Speakers:
- Helene Vallieres, Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee, CASA  (Quebec City)
- Jaggi Singh, The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) and Colors of Resistance (Montreal)
- Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, Former Black Panther and Political Prisoner, Founder of the Black Autonomy Network Of Community Organizers and author of "Anarchism and Black Revolution" (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
- Fernando, Food for Chiapas (Toronto)
- Sue Collis, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, OCAP (Toronto)
- Pauline Hwang, Colors of Resistance (Montreal)
- Steve Swart, Active Transformation (Lansing, Michigan) and Anti-Racist Action Toronto

For more information on radical organizing against the FTAA please contact:

Anti-Racist Action Toronto
P.O. Box 291, Station B.
Toronto ON M5T 2T2
ara@web.net
416.631.8835
http://www.web.net/~ara

Colours of Resistance
http://www.tao.ca/~colours
colours@tao.ca

The Anti-Capitalist Convergence, Montreal (CLAC)
e-mail: clac@tao.ca
web: http://www.quebec2001.net
tel: +1 514 409-2049
post: 2035, St-Laurent Boulevard, 2nd floor
Montreal, Quebec H2X 2T3 CANADA

Summit of The Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA), Quebec City
email: la_casa2001@hotmail.com
------------
Stop the Free Trade Area of the Americas in 2001
(A Toronto report and list of upcoming events)
By Gary Morton

   People crowded into the DEC Bookroom tonight for a Mobilization 4 Global Justice film and discussion on the upcoming FTAA protests that will take place from April 20th to 22 in Quebec City.

   Like every other Toronto activist event I attended this month, the mood was friendly, open and democratic. The total opposite of the way the city is governed. There were completely new people in the group, and that has also been true in other groups. 2001 seems to be showing two things in Toronto - new people getting into activist causes and a flowering of group democracy, where the old systems of dictatorial group leaders and control freaks have been cast off. Discussion where everyone participates is the new norm.

   It did come out that Mobilization 4 Global Justice is already arranging buses to Quebec and at the end of the meeting people signed up. I suggested a couple things. One was arranging a list of people headed for Quebec by car, to make sure all seats are full.

   Funds are needed - the more money, the more buses. There was talk of putting together affinity groups and so on. I suggested that they do like environmental groups are doing in Toronto - sign up people as fundraisers and send them out to get money. This led one woman to volunteer and that idea will be discussed with most other stuff at the next meeting.

   The feeling I get is that if groundwork is quickly done in Toronto, we could get a huge contingent off to Quebec on April 20 to 23rd. There are 52,000 politically active people who voted for Tooker Gomberg in last fall's city election, so wouldn't be nice to get even half of them off to Quebec.

  Near the end an important announcement was made and many more event announcements are listed below in this report. Please forward them to any related lists or email groups.
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FTAA Update Jan.23.2001

Jan.23th - I have updated the events after tonight's Toronto Mobilization for Global Justice Meeting. A lot of stuff is on the list like Artists Against the FTAA and Solidarity Sundays. Buses are running to Quebec City on April19th. Back the 22nd. And there may be buses on the 20th and 21rst. To rent your own bus at say Gray Coach the cost is around 3,000 dollars. Tickets on currently scheduled buses are $60 dollars to $100 dollars with fundraising to pay for those who are poorer. A sample fundraising letter has also been developed and letters are going out asking various unions and organizations to sponsor buses.
Gary

Contact the folks at
mob4glob@tao.ca
http://www.mob4glob.ca
for more info and attend the events below.

Radicalize This! An anarchist view in Quebec City
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 14:13:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Nicolas Lefebvre <nicolasphebus@yahoo.com>

RADICALIZE THIS !
Building the Resistance to the FTAA and Summit of the Americas

(The following article is to be appear in the upcoming, and premiere, issue of "The Northeastern Anarchist", the journal of the Northeastern Anarcho-Communist Federation (NEFAC). You can visit their website at http://flag.blackened.net/nefac)

by Nicolas Phebus

QUEBEC CITY -- In April 2001, the Organization of American States (OAS) will sponsor in Quebec-city the third Summit of the Americas, a meeting of 34 heads of states that is scheduled to discuss "continental integration". The proposed "integration" is in fact an extension of NAFTA --the infamous North American Free Trade Agreement-- to all of the Americas except Cuba.

     Just as the organizers are already on the ground trying to sell the Summit to the local population, so is the opposition already crystallized and active in most social fields. Since we guessed readers don't need another article telling them how capitalism and the proposed Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA) are bad and destructive, this article will try to present who's working on the ground in Quebec to organize the resistance.

The "Official Opposition": The Bureaucrat's "People's Summit"

     As anyone following the global protest movement would have guessed, this Summit of the Americas will also have a counter-summit organized by the mainstream union federations and big NGO's. Several networks have been working on this for years. There is the continent wide "Social Alliance" which is composed of most "free" union federations (such as the AFL-CIO and Canadian Labor Congress) and bigger NGO's (such as the Sierra Club).

     In Canada, the main coalitions are "Common Frontiers" in english-speaking Canada and "RQIC" in Quebec (Quebec network on continental integration). These people busied themselves trying to gain a place around the negotiation table and their main objective is to have a "social clause" in the agreement that will defends social and worker's rights. In general, on grounds of realism, they argue, like the AFL-CIO and Quebec FTQ, that globalization is a phenomenon that can't be opposed and to which we must adapt. For some of them, the fight is already lost.

     This is not all, however, as some unions and smaller NGO's as well as most student unions have been organizing in a local coalition for months. This coalition is called OQP-2001 (Operation Quebec Spring 2001 in english). This coalition aims to organize non-violent protests to expose the Summit and FTAA. The OQP-2001 coalition could have been really interesting as it soon adopted a clear anti-FTAA position, however it also ruled early on against direct democracy and refused to have a sovereign general assembly and chose a group based structure instead. This move annoyed many locals, as it gave power to professional activists (such as union bureaucrats) and group representatives instead of the actual activists who do the work. As the months went by, the most conservative elements won a wave of votes that bind the coalition to strict non-violence, a clearly reformist agenda and forbid it to collaborate with any groups that don't adhere to a strict non-violent platform. In fact, this was only a small part of a much larger fear campaign aimed to marginalize "radicals" and "peace loving-rock throwing anarchists" (as one local Montreal "activist" once put it).

The Radicals

     Where do anarchists fit in all of this? Well, at first, the Quebec-city based NEFAC affiliate 'Groupe Anarchiste Emile-Henry' was a member of OQP-2001, but soon left (shortly after the vote against direct democracy). And, to be fair, it took us a while before we kicked our ass and move onto something else.

     In Montreal, however, things where a little bit different and moved much faster. As there was no local organizing going on, three local anti-authoritarians launched a call a year before hand to form a coalition to "bring the spirit of Seattle to Quebec-city in April". After a few long meetings, the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) was founded. It's core principles are in total contrast with most other anti-globalization groupings. First, it's radically democratic, second it's anti-capitalist, non reformist and radical, and, what's more important, it respects a "diversity of tactics". The work done by la CLAC is fairly impressive. First off, most of it's meetings are attended by between 50 and 100 people and it has a core of about 30 activists, maybe more. Second, it already have proved, on the ground, that it can mobilize a fairly large number of people. For example, in October, it mobilized between 700 and 1000 people to protest the G20 meeting in Montreal (see elsewhere in this magazine), and also organized some huge popular education days. The one I attended in December had about a dozen workshops and was attended by about 150 people, maybe more (it was hard to count as there were always workshops going on and people arriving all day long).

     For a time, la CLAC wished to have working links with OQP-2001, but this was turned down when the latter chose not to be associated with any groups who were not explicitly "non-violent". Needless to say this annoyed a number of anarchists and other radical activists. It was decided to organize two public events in Quebec-city co-sponsored by la CLAC, Groupe Anarchiste Emile-Henry and Le Maquis (another local anti-authoritarian collective) and see what happened. In the mean time, Emile-Henry and Le Maquis chose, as there was no radical opposition to the Summit and as we were less and less interested to work within OQP-2001, to issue a call to form an individual based coalition organized around the same principles as la CLAC. Well, everything went pretty well, more than 100 people attended both events, and some 75 people chose to be associated with the new group. The Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (la CASA) was founded.

What About Action?

    La CLAC and la CASA have established a fairly close working relationship, as one would guess. Both groups are proposing a Festival of Anti-Capitalist Resistance in Quebec-city during the Summit (from April 20-22nd) and a Global Anti-Capitalist Day of Action on the 20th. In Quebec-city, to insure the "respect of a diversity of tactics" both groups are advocating, we will propose different spaces so no one steps on the toes of anyone else. Both groups are also calling for an activist gathering and "consulta" in Quebec-city in January, in order to get some feedback from people elsewhere. As for the reformists, no one seems to be proposing a blockade of the Summit anymore, but rather a traditional demonstration on the 21th. As you see, we'll have some fun in April...

To get more info, check www.quebec2001.net and www.cmaq.net

To get in touch with la CLAC, email <clac@tao.ca>, for la CASA, try <la_casa2001@hotmail.com>

The writer lives in Quebec-city and is a member of Groupe Anarchist Emile-Henry (NEFAC) and la CASA. He can be contacted at nicolasphebus@yahoo.com

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Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) -- Québec City

(CASA : le Comité d'Accueil du Sommet des Amériques)  GOALS AND PRINCIPLES (unofficial translation from the French)

Next April 2001, 34 heads of state will be meeting in Quebec City with the goal of creating a free-trade zone that will extend from one end of the Americas to the other -- the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Accelerating both social and ecological degradation -- these leaders aim to extend the reach of capitalism, subjecting our lives to the domination of the commodity economy. In the face of this systematic dispossession of our political power, resistance is essential. This April 2001, a "welcoming committee" will be will waiting for them.

In the absence of a grassroots, radical and anti-capitalist opposition to the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA in Quebec City, we propose the creation of the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA). This coalition of individuals, much like the CLAC (The Anti-Capitalist Convergence in Montreal), comes together on the following principles:

-- Anti-Capitalist

In opposition to the growing tentacles of capitalist globalization, the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) aims to create an anti-capitalist platform for discussion and action. No matter what form it has taken in history (liberal, statist, mercantile, neo-liberal, or even "with a human face") capitalism has always been about the domination of commodities over individuals. Following the logic of profits, the capitalist system monopolizes all social space, reducing human beings to simply producers/consumers, much like the environment becomes only a multitude of resources ready for exploitation.

-- Anti-Patriarchy

>From its origins, the capitalist system was founded on patriarchal domination. Social relationships have been interwoven by this centuries-old ideology that affects all aspects of our lives. This ideological system creates a global system of masculine-based tyranny. When even the existence of the ideology and practice of feminism is more and more put into question, we reaffirm that only a full understanding of structural oppression will allow us to envisage a society that is radically equal.

-- Refusal of Hierarchy

It's clear that that such a project, radically equal, can only come about in the absence of hierarchical dynamics. We don't just denounce all forms of servitude and exploitation of individuals, groups and peoples, but we believe in putting into practice this basic principle within resistance groups themselves and in our day-to-day activities. Hence, CASA offers a radical opposition to the Summit of the Americas and similar processes by organizing in an anti-authoritarian manner. Bringing together individuals, the Welcoming Committee is structured around a democratic, open and decisional general assembly. Anyone in accord with the values and principles of CASA are urged to actively participate in accord with their respective affinities.

-- Autonomy

Aiming to create as many links as possible, with the goal of strengthening networks of resistance, CASA is autonomous of all forms of authority (parties, unions, etc.). We refuse to organize our actions in view of its eventual mass media impact, which we consider to be a form of disempowerment and subjection.

-- Non-reformist

It is within the perspective of a radical transformation of society that CASA adopts a confrontational attitude and rejects reformist alternatives such as lobbying within the framework of negotiations of free trade accords. We regard these strategies as not being able to have a positive impact, and we exclude use of these types of anti-democratic processes.

-- Diversity of Tactics

Respecting a diversity of tactics, CASA supports the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging from popular education to direct action.

In supporting these principles, the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee aims to build a radical and resolute opposition to capitalism, and to its lackeys who will be meeting in Quebec City to negotiate the FTAA. The Summit of the Americas will be held in the middle of a Carnival of Resistance that will converge various social movements, and in which CASA intends to play an active role. While waiting to see capitalism crushed by the blows of a new revolutionary movement, CASA intends to derail the FTAA and unhinge the power of the leaders of the Americas. Anyone in agreement with these principles, and who wish to prepare a "warm and thoughtful welcoming," are encouraged to get involved.

temporary e-mail: la_casa2001@hotmail.com

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The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) -- Montreal (CLAC: La Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes) BASIS OF UNITY (translation from the French)

1. The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC in French) is opposed to capitalism. We fundamentally reject a social and economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and exchange. We reject a system driven by an exploitative logic that sees human beings as human capital, ecosystems as natural resources, and culture as simply a commodity.  We reject the idea that the world is only valuable in terms of profit, competition and efficiency.

2. The CLAC also rejects the ideology of neo-liberalism, whereby corporations and investors are exempt from all political and social measures that interfere with their so-called "success".

3. The CLAC is anti-imperialist, opposed to patriarchy, and denounces all forms of exploitation and oppression. We assert a worldview based on the respect of our differences and the autonomy of groups, individuals and peoples. Our objective is to globalize our networks of resistance to corporate rule.

4. Respecting a diversity of tactics, the CLAC supports the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging between popular education to direct action.

5. The CLAC is autonomous, decentralized and non-hierarchical. We encourage the involvement of anyone who accepts this statement of principles. We also encourage the participation of all individuals in working groups, in accord with their respective political affiliations.

6. With regards to the Summit of the Americas (April 2001) and the negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the CLAC adopts a confrontational attitude and rejects reformist alternatives such as lobbying which cannot have a major impact on anti-democratic processes. We intend to shut down the Summit of the Americas and to turn the FTAA negotiations into a non-event.

e-mail: clac@tao.ca web:    http://www.quebec2001.net tel:    +1 514 526-8946 post:   2035, St-Laurent Boulevard, 2nd floor         Montreal, Quebec H2X 2T3 CANADA

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CASA (Quebec): la_casa2001@hotmail.com (temp.)
CLAC (Montreal): clac@tao.ca
http://www.quebec2001.net
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