Windsor OAS Meeting a Step Forward for Civil Society or Canada's Seattle?

TORONTO, June 1, 2000 -- Canada plays host to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Windsor, Ontario, June 4-6, with a promise from Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy that the participation of civil society in the form of non-government organizations will be greater than at any previous OAS General Assembly. But the meeting takes place amid growing opposition to the workings of multilateral trade and investment bodies.

Grassroots protesters are targeting the Windsor assembly of foreign ministers as they did the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington, D.C. in April and World Trade Organization talks in Seattle last year. Will the Windsor meeting be Canada's Seattle, or an example of progress achieved in bringing civil society groups into the process of international decision-making? The following professors and researchers at York University can offer some perspective on the debate:

Daniel Drache, a political scientist and Director of York's Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, has published extensively on the subject of trade protectionism and globalization. He can comment on the push for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the role of the OAS in this process, current macro-economic and development issues in Latin America, and the dynamic of broader participation of civil society groups in multilateral decision-making. He can be reached at (416) 736-5415, or at home (416) 921-3332.

Ricardo Grinspun is a professor of economics and former director of York's Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC). He has published in-depth analyses on the political economy of free trade and economic integration in the Americas and the participation of civil society in integration. Grinspun argues that Canadian foreign policy is inconsistent in supporting human rights and democratic development in Latin America while promoting a free trade agenda. He says the good that Canada does in promoting human security is undone by its adherence to corporate concerns and its passivity on issues such as US military aid to Colombia. "A US$1.3 billion military package for Colombia will unquestionably intensify the civil war in that country, dramatically worsening what is already the biggest threat to human security in the hemisphere," says Grinspun. He can be reached at home (905) 886-2304. June 3-5 he can be reached at the Ivy Rose Motor Inn, Windsor, (519) 966-1700.

Tom Legler, a political scientist and assistant director of CERLAC, is conducting research on the promotion of democracy in the inter-American system and Canada's role in the OAS. He can be reached at CERLAC at (416) 736- 2100, ext. 22038.

Carla Lipsig-MummÈ is a social scientist and director of the York University Centre for Research on Work and Society (CRWS). She is an expert on labour unions and movements in Canada and internationally, including training and education, garment industry workers, labour rights and globalization, and internationally coordinated labour action. She can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 30205.

Laura Macdonald, a CERLAC fellow, holds a PhD in political science from York and is an associate professor in political science at Carleton University in Ottawa. She has prepared a background paper on citizenship and democracy in the Americas for the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, a Montreal-based NGO, which will be hosting a parallel symposium to the OAS meeting in Windsor, June 3-5. Macdonald is also conducting research on civil society and the FTAA process. She can be reached at (613) 520-2787.

Manuel Rozenthal, a Colombian Canadian, is a visiting CERLAC fellow and recognized international expert on violence, and on the political and social situation in Colombia. His beeper number is (416) 980-1591.

Yasmine Shamsie is a CERLAC research associate and doctoral candidate in political science at York. She has recently completed a report for the North-South Institute in Ottawa entitled Engaging with Civil Society: Lessons from the OAS, FTAA and Summits of the Americas. She can be reached at (416) 516-6059.

Bernie Wolf, professor of economics and international business at York's Schulich School of Business, specializes in international trade. He will comment on the value and importance of a Free Trade Area of the Americas and the roadblocks to achieving this. He can be reached at (416) 736-5067 or at home (416) 223-2794, until June 5.

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For further information, please contact:

Susan Bigelow
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22091
sbigelow@yorku.ca

Marshall Beck
CERLAC
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 88705
mbeck@yorku.ca
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