Montreal Events and Organizing

FOOD AND RESISTANCE - APRIL 17th - International Day of Farmers' Struggle - Follow up material: Short article and Photos (#1) (Montreal Indymedia), Photos (#2); CMAQ: Article and photos;Maurilio Galdino Speech (in .mov format... first ten or fifteen seconds of speech are missing)

GREENWASHING THE FTAA - Follow-up: Two Environmental FTAA Conferences Square Off (March 17, 2003 / McGill Daily); Green groups hold counter-conferences (March 12, 2003 / The Concordian); Free trade won't hurt green laws, envoy says (March 19, 2003 / Gazette); Transcriptions of portions of the "Greenwashing" Conference:

• "Greening the FTAA?" vs. "Greenwashing the FTAA?" - opening remarks at the SNSF conference...
• FTAA & the Environment - SNSF Backgrounder (a more detailed version than that presented at the conference)
• Translated Transcription of the words of Judite Stronzake (MST) at the"Greenwashing the FTAA?" conference
• Greening the FTAA? - Conference Proceedings

• Mobilization Against the WTO Mini-Ministerial in Montreal
• Solidarity Network to Stop the FTAA - Concordia (SNSF / RSCZ)
• Réseau québécois sur l'intégration continentale (RQIC) - RQIC coordonne la consultation populaire sur la ZLEA au Québec qui se tienne d’octobre 2002 à avril 2003.
• Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ)
• La Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes (CLAC) (also see: ANTI-FTAA Organizing Info...)
• Café des droits sociaux de L'Association pour la défense des droits sociaux du Montréal métropolitain (ADDS-MM)Programmation d'automne...voir: Oct. 29, 2002: Film: Ce n’est qu’un début (pour plus d'info sur le film: Ce n’est qu’un début); La ZLEA : un projet pour exploiter les pauvres

U.N. REPORT DENOUNCES MONTREAL POLICE

UN report comes down hard on Montreal police arrest tactics at demos (Nov. 5, 2005 / CP); Police reject UN criticism (Nov. 5, 2005 / The Gazette); La police de Montréal rejette les conclusions de l'ONU (Nov. 5, 2005 / RadioCanada)

Montreal Nov. 4, 2005 Demonstrations:

Four arrested in Montreal protest (Nov. 5, 2005 / CBC); Four arrested after anti-globalization protest (Nov. 5, 2005 / CP)

Montreal Nov. 20, 2003 Demonstrations:

Reclaim the Streets: a carnivalesque theatre (Dec. 1, 2003 / CMAC)

Victoire partielle contre la ZLÉA à Miami / Partial Defeat of FTAA in Miami (Nov. 29, 2003 / Montreal Indymedia)

Video Clip of Nov. 20 2003 Demo (Nov. 21, 2003 / FTAA IMC)

Campus Eye: “Fat Trading Amongst Assholes” (Nov. 24, 2003 / McGill Daily); Protesters of FTAA won't go away (Nov. 25, 2003 / McGill Tribune); Montreal protesters condemn FTAA (Nov. 25, 2003 / The Link); A march against the FTAA (Nov. 25, 2003 / The Concordian); Hundreds protest against free-trade talks (Nov. 21, 2003 / The Gazette)

Montreal Feb. 7, 2003 Demonstrations:

Pettigrew Denounced by FTAA Protesters outside Montreal Ritz Carlton (Feb. 7, 2003 / Montreal Indymedia); SNSF Urges Provinces to Reject Corporate Pett's FTAA (Feb. 7, 2003 / SNSF) - Press Conference Statement from Solidarity Network to Stop the FTAA; Petit resumé anecdotique de la manif (Feb. 7, 2003 / Montreal Indymedia); Pettigrew upbeat on U.S. trade (Feb. 8, 2003 / Gazette); Pettigrew insists on duty repayment (Feb. 8, 2003 / Globe&Mail); Ottawa détecte un changement d'attitude de Washington dans le dossier du bois d'oeuvre - Le Canada mise sur la flexibilité américaine (7 fév. 2003 / Le Devoir); FTAA protesters reach common goal from different angles (Feb. 11, 2003 / The Link); Demonstrators attack Pettigrew's record, motives (Feb. 11, 2003 / McGill Tribune); Students protest at the Ritz (Feb. 12, 2003 / The Concordian)

ANTI-FTAA PROTEST! FRIDAY - FEB. 7 - 2003 (Feb. 1, 2003 / SNSF) Includes: "Just who is this Pierre Pettigrew?" The Canadian Minister of International Trade is entrusted with negotiating away huge chunks of sovereign democratic powers....it might be a good idea to find out more about this guy! Included as part of Feb. 7 demonstration callout.

Montreal Oct. 31, 2003 Demonstrations:

FTAA protesters should heed Fox (Nov. 7, 2002 / The Gazette) - Gazette reader's letter which attempts to tar student protesters as well-meaning but misguided, and equates the projected FTAA with European Union. This disinforming fantasy is effectively demolished by another reader's response: FTAA offers none of the freedoms, integration of EU (Nov. 9, 2002 / The Gazette).

A couple of readers' letters appeared in the Gazette today regarding yesterday's article (Students decry FTAA) -- one critical of the article's emphasis on sensationalism (March to protest against free trade got short shrift (Nov. 2, 2002 / Gazette), the other a caricature-ish right-wing rant about how students should get a job, genuflect with gratitude, and, if they really must pursue social justice, to do it by grovelling before munificent business leaders ('Worry parade' inconveniences the 'productive classes' - Nov. 2, 2002 / Gazette)

More on Montreal Oct. 31 demo: Les étudiants manifestent contre la ZLEA (1 nov. 2002 / La Presse) - nice coverage here, but no numbers estimates; Students decry FTAA (November 1, 2002 / The Gazette) - not bad, even in spite of the effort to loudpedal the 'confrontational' angle (what little there was) of the story. Once again, no numbers estimated (note, by the way, that Canada.com continues to block the search term "FTAA" - you have to use alternate search terms to get to their articles...) ; Hundreds of students protest freer trade (October 31, 2002 / Canadian Press) - "Hundreds"??? Give me a break. Most credible estimates are hovering around 10,000 protesters. This short article vastly underestimates the number and, like the Radio Canada piece below, tries to narrow the issue to education alone (and even gets that part a bit screwed up). Marche contre la ZLEA (1 nov. 2002 / Le Devoir) - better coverage here (although see this critique: Lettres: Sensationnalisme en une - 5 nov. 2002 / Le Devoir).

Les étudiants de Sherbrooke manifestent (31 octobre, 2002 / La Tribune)

8-15 thousand demonstrate against FTAA in Montreal (October 31, 2002; Indymedia); 10,000 Protest in the Streets of Montreal ... (October 31, 2002 / Montreal Indymedia); Photos of protest: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7

«L'éducation n'est pas une marchandise» (October 31, 2002 / Radio Canada) Concerning anti-FTAA demonstrations in Montreal, this article seriously underestimates the turnout and then suggests that the only problem protesters have with the deal concerns whether education is included or not. Perhaps some people (in the FEUQ, for instance) feel this way, but the more predominant message was a much broader, wholesale rejection of the FTAA.

Free trade faces protest (October 29, 2002 / Gazette) - Incidentally, the Asper family's Canada.com has been blocking the search term "FTAA" - so it is necessary to use alternate search terms.

Student Charged with, um, Activism (Oct. 17, 2002 / rabble.ca). Yves Engler is arrested for distributing anti-FTAA pamphlets. See also: Yves Anglers [sic] sous les verrous (17 oct. 2002 / RadioCanada); Issue becomes free speech (October 18, 2002 / The Gazette); 19 cop cars - but who's counting? (October 18, 2002 / The Gazette); Moratorium must go (October 19, 2002 / The Gazette)

Halloween anti-ZLEA dans les cégeps et les universités (9 oct., 2002 / La Presse) - 40 student associations in Quebec are now reportedly committed to mobilizing for anti-FTAA actions on Oct. 31.

Recent Analysis

• Competition Policy in the WTO and FTAA: A Trojan Horse for International Trade Negotiations? (August 28, 2003 / Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)
• FTAA Treaty Chapter on IP 'Threatens Freedom and Free Trade' (Oct. 20, 2003 / IP Justice)
• Analysis of FTAA Text from a Gender Perspective
• FTAA & the Environment - SNSF Backgrounder
• FTAA: A Dangerous NAFTA/GATS Hybrid (March 2003 / Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)
• Let's Harness Trade for Development: Why Oxfam Opposes the FTAA (Jan. 25, 2003 / Oxfam) - A new Oxfam report is unveiled at Porto Alegre. Excerpt from executive summary: "...An agreement based on the extension of NAFTA to the rest of the Hemisphere would constitute a setback to efforts to eradicate poverty and to promote equitable and sustainable development. The demands of a globalized world require a process and an agreement more in line with the democratic aspirations of the citizens of the Americas."
• NAFTA: A Cautionary Tale (October 24, 2002 / Interhemispheric Resource Center) - by Timothy A. Wise and Kevin P. Gallagher
• Florida Fair Trade Coalition - site includes links to many informative online FTAA pamphlets
• US Trade Officials Draft FTA Labor, Environmental Rules (October 23, 2002 / Dow Jones) - "...The draft plan would go some way to addressing this sensitivity by requiring only that countries in free trade agreements enforce their own labor and environmental laws, rather than international or foreign standards. This approach is sometimes referred to as the Jordan model after a provision in a free trade agreement the U.S. signed with the middle eastern country in 2000...." These so called 'environmental rules' don't even touch upon the more fundamental FTA threat: the erosion of democracy (including the ability to establish environmental regulations) due to investment clauses.
• Social Movements and Economic Integration in the Americas (Nov. 1, 2002 / Interhemispheric Resource Center) - an examination of the emergence of a hemispheric movement—or collection of movements—opposed to the currently dominant plan for deepened economic integration in the Americas, including the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) as well as regional arrangements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Plan Puebla-Panama (PPP), and United States-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
• why the FTAA sucks: a pre-protest analysis (October 30, 2002 / Montreal Indymedia)
• Trade Ministers Urged to Protect Labor Rights in FTAA (October 30, 2002 / Human Rights Watch)
• Mobilizing Against the FTAA & Militarization in Ecuador (October 2002 / IRC)
• Trading Away the Future (Jan. 28, 2002 / Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops)
• Testimony of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at the Public Hearing Concerning Market Access in the Free Trade Area of the Americas Negotiations of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (Sept. 9, 2002 / MSF)
• Effects on Universal Access to Health Care and Water Services (August 21, 2002 / Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health - CPATH)
• Fast Track: Fix it or Nix it (May 2, 2002, Foreign Policy in Focus) by Kevin Gallagher. Excerpt:
  "Recent statistics from Mexico’s National Institute for Statistics, Geography and Information Systems (INEGI) document how environmental degradation has taken a big bite out of the benefits of trade-led economic growth in Mexico—the very nation that the Bush administration holds up as free trade’s success story. According to INEGI’s figures, every major environmental problem has worsened since Mexico began liberalizing its trade policies in the 1980s. The institute estimates, for instance, that soil erosion, solid waste generation, and air pollution have increased by 63% since 1988. What’s more, INEGI reports the costs of this environmental degradation as averaging $36 billion a year during the 1988-1999 period. In 1999 alone, the price tag came in at a whopping $47 billion. This destruction overwhelms Mexico’s economic growth, which has been just 2.5% annually over the same period, or $14 billion per year. At the same time, since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, real spending by the Mexican government on environmental protection has declined by $200 million, according to INEGI figures."
• MSF Comment on the Draft Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (May 1, 2002 / MSF)
• NAFTA's Chapter 11 has become private justice for foreign companies - (January 7, 2002 / Global Exchange) - about the Bill Moyers documentary on NAFTA's investment chapter
• Canadian Library Association - GATS/WTO/FTAA Resources
• NAFTA Case Studies
• The Fiscal Impacts of Investment Provisions in United States Trade Agreements
• The FTAA, Brazil and the environment
  
• The Fiscal Impacts of Investment Provisions in United States Trade Agreements
• Bombarded by Bilaterals - very thorough overview and analysis of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), by Aziz Choudry
• www.americaspolicy.org

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Contact me (Eric Squire) at: ftaa-alert@angelfire.com