A lesson in democracy

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

I joined Heather Tickie and other peaceful protesters on Nov. 17 when the G20 met in Ottawa (Standing up for her beliefs, Dec. 7).

The Group of 20 nations sounds rather benign and noble in most press coverage: “promoting cooperation and achieving sustainable world growth.”

Regardless of its claimed objections, the G20, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the GATT, while promoting increased trade and globalization, have failed miserably to help the majority of the world’s poor.

They are free-market profit-driven organizations that have only served to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Loan programs continue to devastate developing countries. In the 1990s, poor countries paid $77 billion more on debts than they received in aid and new loans. Policies enforced by lenders such as the IMF have forced poor countries to decrease social spending – on health, education and the environment – and privatize services to pay off debts.

Multinational corporations thrive on decreased trade barriers. They can make big bucks working in countries that have the worst working conditions for the local people – low wages, few unions and lax environmental laws.

The ratio of wealth between the world’s richest country and poorest one has gone from 11 to one in 1913 to 72 to one in 1992. The number of people living in absolute poverty has doubled since 1950.

In Canada, too, the gap between rich and poor is growing. And we have some pretty scary politicians making decisions in some of our provinces.

In expanding to 20 countries (from eight in the G8), the power still lies with the wealthiest economies, as voting power is based on a country’s gross domestic product.

These institutions generate massive wealth for a few, and poverty for the rest. That’s why many of us walked in protest to demonstrate that not everyone is driven by greed.

The excessive show of force – dogs, guns shields, – alongside the strollers and walkers of all ages was very disheartening (and scary, too). As Heather Tickie was trying to teach her kids, we have a say in what happens. That’s what democracy is supposed to be about.

The new anti-terrorism bill in Canada will make it even more difficult to exercise our civil rights and protest future similar meetings. In fact, aboriginal people who have over the years used similar tactics will have their voices limited if this bill goes through.

We should all exercise our civil rights – vote – and when you don’t like what you see, speak out and write to your leaders. It’s easy to lose hope, but so important not to.

Madeleine Cole
Iqaluit

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