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In the past, I've been critical of protesters who
were out to disrupt conferences such as the WTO meetings in Seattle and the
forthcoming summit of the Americas in Quebec City. I favour free trade and
feel that it is the key to greater global interdependence and harmonious
international relations. People who have disrupted events which are
intended to liberalize trade were, in my books, rather ignorant and missing the
point. Now, I'm beginning to wonder. My belief in the freedom of
trade remains, but I'm beginning to question whose freedom is being served by
the periodic summits that have become such flashpoints.
Yesterday, I posted an article from the Globe and
Mail which, I thought, raised questions about the relevance of democratic
government in countries such as Canada and the United States. These
countries were supposedly established on the principle of one person, one vote,
with no single class or group having more political influence than
another. The article clearly suggested that how much influence you have
depends on how much money you have. Today, I'm posting another article
which suggests that large corporations can buy their way into the Summit of the
Americas by "hosting" various events, a procedure which, according to the
Government of Canada, is pretty standard. It's said to be good for the
public purse because it saves money. I should not be surprised at any of this,
but I do like to maintain a certain naive, if foolish, faith in what I
regard as my democratic system.
If you want to see who the Government of Canada
regards as its "supporting team" with regard to the Summit of the Americas, take
a look at http://www.americascanada.org/sponsors/menu-e.asp .
With the level of support the companies listed can provide, I'm not so sure that
I'll send in my $25.00. Perhaps it would be better spent in supporting the
protesters.
Ed Weick
$1-million to sponsor PM's gala; $75,000 price tag on coffee breaks
Mark MacKinnon
OTTAWA -- While organizers of the coming Summit of the Americas in Quebec City are building a wall to keep protesters out, Canada's corporate giants are buying access to world leaders by shelling out up to half a million dollars to sponsor events, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show. In exchange for sponsoring events such as receptions, luncheons and coffee breaks, the companies get the opportunity to mingle with and chat to leaders of the 34 countries that are coming to Quebec City April 20-22 to negotiate a proposed free-trade area of the Americas. For instance, Scotiabank and Alcan, two of Canada's biggest firms, have agreed to pay $500,000 each to co-sponsor the Prime Minister's Cultural Performance and Evening Reception on the Saturday night of the summit. In exchange for their fee, the companies not only get to advertise at the reception; they get invitations to "networking events" with leaders and other delegates, and "priority seating" during the reception, the documents say. "I'm not surprised at all," Kerry Pither of the Solidarity Network, one of the groups planning to protest against the summit, said. "The companies who benefit from a signed FTAA are sponsoring this event." Other activists who plan protests against the FTAA say the documents show the trade negotiations are being directed by corporations to the exclusion of other groups in society. "Everybody knows that he who pays the piper calls the tune," said Philippe Duhamel, one of the planners of summit protests. "If our leaders are being wined and dined by corporate leaders, no wonder the FTAA process is a one-way street that benefits corporations and denies citizens input." Mr. Duhamel said corporate sponsorship of major meetings of world leaders is becoming the norm. He said sponsorship was one of the reasons tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle in 1999. In preparation for what they expect will be a similarly large protest in Quebec City, the RCMP is planning what it calls the largest police presence in Canadian history, some 5,000 officers. Police are also building a three-metre-high chainlink fence to keep protesters and Quebec City residents several kilometres away from the summit site. Eric Pelletier, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, said the sponsorship arrangements help defray some of the costs that would otherwise be absorbed by taxpayers. He said that while companies get definite benefits from sponsoring events -- largely invitations to the summit's social events -- they never would be allowed to meet one-on-one with a world leader because of a contribution they had made. He said "preferred seating" might mean that a company could choose to sit at a dinner table with specific leaders or delegates they wished to speak to, but there would be several other people sitting at the same table. Documents dated September, 2000, said the proposed fees for sponsoring various events ranged from $75,000, to get a corporate name attached to coffee breaks, up to $1.5-million for the Prime Minister's gala. Delegate bags, luggage tags and the media centre were also available for sponsorship. Donations of $100,000 in "VIP gifts" and a similar dollar amount of alcohol were also being sought. Companies that were identified by the documents as being among the first to get involved said they had no political agenda to push. "It's a chance to network; that's what it's really all about," said Scotiabank spokeswoman Diane Flanagan. "It provides the opportunity for Canadian companies to meet world leaders and their delegates." She said that while Scotiabank, which has operations in much of Latin America, is obviously interested in promoting its product and brand name during those discussions, the company cares about issues like democracy and human rights, too. Alcan spokesman Marc Osborne said his company was just being a good corporate citizen in sponsoring the event. |
