What makes you proud to be Canadian? What is it that sets this country apart from its large neighbour to the south and time and again earns it the United Nation's recognition as the best place to live on the planet?

While people in other countries might point to their history, to their cultural monuments or their traditions, as Canadians we look to our public services and the quality of life they produce as a source of pride. We talk about our healthcare system, the clean air and water, the plentiful food, or the opportunities for work and advancement. And we should be proud . . . we've accomplished some impressive goals together.

Today, everything we've done together is coming under attack. If you don't believe me, just look around you. Our schools are underfunded. Our hospitals are in crisis. People are getting sick because their air is dirty, their water is polluted, or their food is contaminated. A university education is getting too expensive for most families. Many of us are working longer hours than we did a decade ago and we're still falling behind. The culprit is globalization.

The global economy is changing. People have the capacity to work together, to share ideas and resources, and to sell goods around the world. The problem is that large, multinational corporations have hijacked the globalization agenda. They've convinced governments like ours that the markets are the key to pros

perity and that markets work best when governments leave them alone. They've shifted the focus for global development away from the human agenda of the United Nations toward the economic agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Around the world, private, for-profit companies are taking over the services that people used to receive through their governments. Governments are doing their best to get out of the way by lowering taxes and reducing costly demands like environmental or health and safety standards. They're even signing trade agreements that act more like charters of corporate rights and freedoms.

Trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that allow companies to sue governments for lost profits when laws are passed that interfere with business. Often these are laws governments pass to protect people from being poisoned, exploited, or hurt. You don't have to look very far to see this agenda at work. If your community hasn't lost a school, a hospital, or its local government to amalgamation Ñ you've probably noticed that you're being asked to pay for more and getting less. Today it's things like electricity, eye exams, bus fare, and school supplies. Soon, it will be things like toll roads, clean water, and cancer treatment.

Some of us think this is wrong. We think that the emerging global economy should make human and social development a priority along with economic development and environmental protection. We think that governments have a positive role to play in this new economy and that the principles of democracy and human rights are indispensable. We also think that communities are more capable of deciding what's best for their citizens and protecting their environment than some big multinational corporations. That's why some of us are taking to the streets in places like Seattle and Quebec City. We're not "hooligans" or "anarchists". . . we're people who think it's time for a change.

Peter Boyle

President, Kingston & District Labour Council