OTTAWA (CP) - Activists fighting trade globalization shouldn't feel they must make the trek to Kananaskis to protest at the G-8 summit, says Maude Barlow, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians.
Barlow, probably the most influential leader in the so-called anti-globalization movement in Canada, says activists can be just as effective staying at home and working in their own communities. "Being in Kananaskis is one alternative, it's one way to make your case, but it's only one and there are many other ways," Barlow says.
She's not expecting the G-8 summit in June to bring a repeat of the dramatic clashes that marred the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City last summer.
"I don't expect a big crowd, we're not anticipating it, we're not calling for it. We don't particularly want a big crowd because we're concerned about the environment," Barlow said in an interview.
"The most important thing is finding creative, peaceful ways to get an alternative message out."
And she balks at the label "anti-globalization," calling it a misnomer for people worried that poverty, injustice and environmental degradation will be the legacy of the rules being set for globalized trade, she said.
"Were not against globalization per se, it's who gets to set the rules and for whom have they been set. Those are the important questions and you don't have to be in Kananaskis to answer them or to raise them."
Provided that a peaceful atmosphere is maintained, activists have an ideal opportunity to address the world media, she said.
"The political and economic framework of the G-8 is so discredited that even the World Bank put out a study saying basically globalization has not worked for the poor.
"If there's ever been a time for an alternative voice, this is it. We want to say what the world could look like if we had trade that was fair and responsible and corporations were held accountable."
The elaborate security precautions authorities are taking for the Kananaskis meeting are absurd, she said.
"To my knowledge there's not one of the mainstream groups in any way, shape or form planning anything but non-violent, peaceful kinds of statements."
She said there will always be a few people who seek confrontation, but she foresees little of that kind of disruption and says it can be easily handled.
Some protest groups are refusing to meet with police before the Kananaskis summit, a stand Barlow says is counter-productive.
Dialogue with the police is important, she said.
"The police are not our enemies, they're doing what they're told by governments," she said.
"They have the responsibility obviously to protect the leaders and the people travelling with them and we fully agree with that."
Protesters plan to establish a campsite on First Nations land about 25 kilometres from the Kananaskis conference complex, where activists will be able to meet in a festive atmosphere.
But negotiations for a site have run into problems, and organizers suspect federal authorities of working behind the scenes to prevent the "solidarity village" from being established.
"We have had indications that there is a desire to block what we're doing, but it's too early to tell," said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, a member of the Council of Canadians involved in the planning.
"Protesters need a site where something peaceful and non-violent can happen."
The federal government hasn't released cost estimates on the summit, which is to focus on African development, but some reports peg the total at $300 million. That's said to be as much as Ottawa is allocating for its entire African aid initiative.
Barlow said the African initiative is similar to many packages set up in the past by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and is highly controversial in Africa.
"The central message is that the G-8 rules the world and the United States rules the G-8, and . . . they're going to be meeting to promote corporate, northern interests on the rest of the world."
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.