Canadians rally, join international protests against WTO

December 18, 2005

(Vancouver, BC) – Around 50 protesters rallied today in a working-class neighbourhood of Vancouver, joining protests around the world against the World Trade Organization (WTO). Standing in front of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) site which was used as a venue to promote local agricultural products for trade, the protestors expressed their solidarity with militant protest actions taking place in Hong Kong, the location of the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the WTO.

“Although its proponents claimed it would help uplift the lives of people around the world through increased trade, the people know that the impact of the WTO is the exact opposite,” said Ning Alcuitas, International Coordinating Committee member of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), organizers of the rally. She also declared, “After ten years, the people know that the WTO cannot be merely reformed – it must be junked!”

In the midst of a federal election campaign, the role of Canada in promoting unequal trade to benefit Canadian corporations at the expense of underdeveloped nations was also criticized at the rally. Merryn Edwards of Grassroots Women said, “Through Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), Canadian corporations like InterHealth Canada seek increased access to markets around the world to profits made under the guise of providing healthcare consulting services.” She added, “In the meantime, our Canadian healthcare system continues to deteriorate and suffer from cutbacks and shortages of doctors and nurses.”

Sheila Farrales of the Filipino Nurses Support Group urged Canadians to continue to understand the connections between Canadian international trade policy and conditions for Canadians. “By promoting trade and plunder of countries, like the Philippines, thousands of people who lose their jobs, lands and livelihood are forced to migrate to such countries as Canada. Yet many of our members who migrated to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) are not allowed to practice their profession in Canada because of racist and discriminatory accreditation barriers.”

Aboriginal groups also joined the protest. Dustin Johnson of the International Indigenous Youth Conference expressed, “We are in solidarity with indigenous peoples around the world whose land, resources and labour are being exploited and commodified under the process of imperialist war, trade and plunder."

The rally, featuring cultural performances and expressions of support from passersby walking or driving by the site, closed with a salute to the organizations, led by the Hong Kong People’s Alliance. “Despite facing massive police brutality and harassment, they successfully continued the rallies in Hong Kong today,” said Barbara Waldern, also a member of the International Coordinating Committee member of the ILPS. “We call on all progressive organizations and individuals to support the demand for the immediate release of 900 protestors detained in Hong Kong on December 17, 2005. We also vow to continue to educate Canadians not just about the harsh impacts of the WTO but about the root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice which lie in the system of imperialism itself.”

The group also held an educational forum on December 15, 2005 to expose the economic aggression of the WTO. Featuring speakers from organizations of women, youth, workers and migrants, the forum participants had a lively discussion about the need to build international anti-imperialist solidarity against the WTO and all instruments used by imperialism to further exploit oppressed peoples of the world.

The forum, the last in a series for the fall of 2005, was part of the effort of ILPS participating organizations in Vancouver to build-up towards the hosting of an international conference under the theme, “Towards a Just and Lasting Peace,” to be held in Vancouver under the auspices of the ILPS from June 16 to 19, 2006.