Calgarians will have a chance to discuss the G-8 and how decisions at the international summit will affect their community when a travelling discussion group rolls into the city on June 1.
Talking G-8: The Travelling Road Show is a companion to the G-8 summit, slated to take place in Kananaskis June 26 and 27, and is an attempt to get Albertans thinking about the high-profile meeting of eight world leaders while creating an awareness of how their decisions mean something at home.
"What will get lost when the summit starts and the protests begin is how (the G-8) affects the average person here in Alberta," Ricardo Acuna said Saturday.
Acuna is the executive director of the Parkland Institute, an Alberta-wide research network that examines public policy issues and is co-sponsoring the road show.
The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation is the other sponsor.
According to Acuna, the road show will provide a vehicle for locals to discuss how an international decision on agriculture may affect the ability of Alberta farmers to sell produce or livestock, or how worldwide talks on pollution or advertising could determine the number of feedlots allotted to the province and the type of television programming allowed.
"The idea isn't about the summit so much as engaging people in companion discussions," Acuna added.
Two experts will be travelling with the road show -- which is scheduled to hit 11 Alberta cities and towns between May 25 and June 8 -- to facilitate the talks.
Pam Foster, an advocate for reforms to the international finance system and co-ordinator of the Halifax Initiative, will be joined by Calgarian Sarah Kerr as the tour constants.
"There are increasing numbers of people who are prepared to risk arrest and make extensive personal sacrifices to communicate their opposition to the secretive agenda of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), G-8 and other global power groups," said Foster in a prepared statement.
"Why are they willing to put so much on the line? There is obviously something that needs talking about."
The Halifax Initiative is a coalition of development, environment, labour and human rights groups based in Ottawa.
The G-8 road show will be in Medicine Hat on May 29, Lethbridge on May 30, Pincher Creek on May 31 and in both Banff and Canmore on June 8.
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