Get ready for some social unrest.
Protests are expected to kick into full swing later this month, as the heads of state from the richest countries in the world meet face-to-face at the G8 and G20 Summit meetings.
Canada is hosting the back-to-back summits, attended by a who’s who of international politics — from presidents and prime ministers, to bankers, financial ministers and representation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Gathered in dimly-lit boardrooms with sinister grins, these world leaders will hatch evil plans to determine our futures.
That will be the interpretation of an op-ed cartoon, of course.
The summits provide a forum for leaders of industrialized and developing economies to discuss issues pertaining to the global economy, amidst elite company.
“The only peers they have in the world are their fellow leaders,” says John Kirton, a professor at the University of Toronto. “The only people who understand them and the challenges they face are the fellow leaders. The only people who can provide them with wise advice or emotional support are those fellow leaders.”
However, what constitutes “good advice” depends on whom you talk to.
In the age of globalization, concerned citizens (you can call them dissidents or activists) are wary of the harmful impacts that decisions made by these elites can have on both people and the planet.
“Given the colonial, imperial nature of international politics and the disastrous legacy of ‘free’ markets, the G8 and G20 ‘leaders’ have no legitimacy to manage the global economy and financial system, nor do they represent the best interests of most people or the environment,” states the Toronto Community Mobilization Network’s website.
The network’s protest plans are well underway, underlined by objections to attempts to fix capitalism that result in cuts to social spending and a push for privatization, “furthering the systems of oppression that have led to poverty, environmental destruction and other social injustices.”
And if history tells us anything, it could get ugly.
While it’s usually only a minority of protesters whose stated goal is destruction, mayhem and violence, clashes with police and vandalism are par for the course when world leaders assemble.
With that in mind, the largest security operation ever undertaken in Canada will be implemented for the G20 summit in Toronto.
The Toronto Sun reports that approximately 12,000 uniformed police will be on summit security duty “at double-time pay for 12 hour shifts with room and board provided,” says Alan Parker.
Meanwhile, the National Post got their hands on a leaked email by organizers recruiting doctors for $120 an hour to treat injured protesters in a makeshift jail.
Sound cannons have been added to security arsenals that are likely to also include tear gas and Tasers. Used at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last year, the sound cannons emit ear-piercing blasts that can be heard up to 1.5 kilometres away.
Activists, who are advised to bring earplugs, are expected to be in attendance to make their voices heard on a wide range of issues, from social justice and poverty, to the economy and environment.
Those critical of the background of white noise made by anti-globalization activists (who are perhaps better defined as anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, anti-free trade and anti-imperialist) when world leaders gather, say protests don’t make a difference.
It”s the same logic used by apathetic citizens who take a “why bother” attitude and avoid the voting cubicle.
But, history tells us otherwise. From ending slavery to advancing women’s rights, power belongs to the people, who have an obligation and duty to speak up against indifference and governmental oppression.
And the real story of globalization needs to be told. We need to be reminded that free trade and fair trade are entirely different things. That multi-national corporations often seek out countries with lax labour laws and environmental regulations to do their business.
The TCMN wants an “alter-globalization movement” that demands justice and remedies the systemic problems with the current global system.
And what better a place to take that message than to the G20 summit, whose member countries’ collective economies comprise 85 per cent of global gross national product, 80 per cent of world trade and two-thirds of the world population?
And lest we forget, the power of wealthy nations extends beyond politics.
The Sun’s Parker reminds us that four of the G8 countries — the U.S., Russia, Britain and France — “control roughly 95 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons.”