Solidarity Network Assembly
Edmonton, Canada, January 16-19, 2002

Iván, an Aymara leader from Bolivia, put it all in perspective for us: "Terrorism is something you think about since September 11. We, on the other hand, have lived it now for more than 500 years. The end of colonialism has yet to come for us. We are 82% of the population, yet never have we had a place in government. The death rate for Aymara children under one year old in Bolivia hovers around 40%. The United Nations says we have rights as a nation, and then they send us to our governments for recognition of those rights. The United Nations recognizes every nation on earth except the First Nations."

And so we gathered, Canadian social activists, for the Third Solidarity Network Assembly in Edmonton, Alberta from January 16-19, 2002, to share our stories and prepare for the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, January 31-February 5, 2002.

We came from every corner of Canada, young and old, men and women, of every colour and culture, representatives of national, regional and local organizations, high profile and fledgling; we came from Unions, NGO’s, Church, youth groups, feminists and peace groups. All of us, 170 strong, crowded into a downtown hotel for four days of sharing and celebrating the social activist movement in Canada under the banner, "The Power is in Our Choices." It was a time to take stock, to listen and dream together of how "a different world is possible."

The program included several major elements:

1) a full day of report-ins from every province of Canada

2) A full day of training on strategy and tactics for social organizing and mobilization. This was facilitated by George Lakey and Pam Cooley..

3) A full day of reports on the World Social Conference to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil. beginning January 31., 2002 and on the strategy of the Hemispheric Alliance to counteract the corporate globalization agenda.

Finally, we listened to local initiatives to prepare for the G-8 meeting that will take place in Alberta in June, 2002.

The Solidarity Network is a unique opportunity in Canada for a cross-sectoral dialogue among committed activists representing many of the major players in the movement for social transformation in Canada. Only the political parties are excluded. It is not a place for decision – no delegate is required to commit their organization to any action or statement. The time is rather used for respectful and supportive listening to the insights and initiatives of brothers and sisters: a time to feel the collective strength and to connect with one another.

In what remains of this report, I would like to share with you some of what we heard. I found the sharing both inspiring and energizing.

From Newfoundland, we heard of up to 40% unemployment in some areas and of the struggle to retain the only shipbuilding industry left in the Grand Banks area in face of government and private sector betrayal.

From the Common Front on New Brunswick’s north east shore we heard about the impoverishment of the region and the desperate struggle of the workers to fight back against unemployment.

From Prince Edward Island we heard of the work to prepare an Alternative Budget based on a popular survey of people’s priorities.

From Nova Scotia we heard of the Sierra Club’s struggle alongside local residents to have the Sydney tar ponds cleared of toxic waste and of the anti-free trade organizing.

From Quebec we hard of the work of Salami to hold a Fair Trade Symposium, the work of Artists for Peace to build an anti-war coalition in the one province in Canada where opinion polls show the majority oppose Canadian participation in the U. S. military campaign in Afghanistan.

From Ontario we heard from the Sierra Youth and from the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice about their efforts to organize an "Unfit to Govern" campaign to educate citizens about the disastrous social policies of the provincial government.

From Manitoba we heard about the "Native Initiative" in Winnipeg neighbourhoods and of work in the prisons where 80% of the population is Aboriginal.

From Saskatchewan the Sierra Youth told us of the initiative of organic farmers to sue Monsanto over their promotion of organically modified seed and also about opposition to Bill C-36 (the anti-terrorism legislation).

From Alberta, the province that has been leading the way in the privatization of health care, we heard of the struggle to preserve publicly funded health care. We also got a report on an up-coming strike (February 4) of 12,000 of the 36,000 teachers over quality education.

From British Colombia we were advised of the cut of 30% of public sector workers (11,500) on the very weekend of our gathering even as the government is announcing tax cuts.

From the Yukon we heard of the struggle of the aboriginal population for settlement of their land claims.

Finally, from the North West Territories, where 50% of the population is Aboriginal and the average age is 25, we heard of the struggle to have the benefits of the diamond industry remain in the Territory and not be stashed in the coffers of the Federal Government in Ottawa.

There are not the stories or the perspectives one sees on television or in the papers. They are personalized in the lives of those who live them "in carne propio." They are a snapshot of our country, its agony and the courage of its people.

We then explored the campaigns led by national organizations to education and take action on a variety of issues:

The Canadian Federation of Students will hold a National Day of Action on student debt, whose goal is to maintain the freeze on student tuition.

The Sierra Youth Club announced a "Cycling for Sustainability" campaign across Canada next summer following the success of the "Caravan for Peace" held last summer.

The Farmworkers Union (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Nordoueste) from Oregon announced a campaign to lobby Smitties Pancake Restaurants to boycott Norpac products.

The Canadian Labour Congress announced its campaign "Is Work Working for You?" on the question of a living wage, as well as their support for the organization of farmworkers in Ontario following the court decision to reverse that government’s law disbanding earlier unions.

From the Hospital Workers Union we heard a report on the current politics of health care including the lie that privatizing will save money, the lie that Medicare is economically unsustainable, the lie that health care wages are too high. All these lies are contained in the Mazencovsky Report that is currently being used by the government to destroy Medicare. It was pointed out that the health and safety risks encountered by workers in this field are actually higher than those encountered by police.

The Association of Women and the Law urged to participate in the local hearings being conducted across the country by the Romanov Commission, either as individuals or as organizations, not just to preserve our already weakened Medicare system but to demand a more comprehensive system including home care and pharmacare.

The Council of Canadians, with 100,000 members, informed us of their campaigns on water, biotechnology, trade, health care and energy deregulation.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (with 500,000 members) reported on their campaign to maintain public ownership of water systems as part of their focus on access to wealth and sustainability. In coalition with the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), they have recently formed Water Watch whose work will be to develop local Water Watch committees, develop tools for local research and advocate with municipal and provincial governments as well as network internationally.

Kairos reported on its current debt campaign "Turning the Tables" which calls us to accountability by calling our elected politicians to accountability. The campaign invited local citizens to send an "invoice" to the G-8 heads of state for their debts to the South, to Aboriginal peoples and to the Earth. In Porto Alegre, Kairos will join its southern partners in holding a Peoples’ Tribunal on Illegitimate Debt as a kick-off to national and regional tribunals around the world.

The Polaris Institute informed us of their global research and action program on Corporate Rule, the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) and their biotech project.

The Parkland Institute in Calgary reported on their research on health care and democracy.

There was also a report from the Indymedia people (Independent Media), the people who bring you www.indymedia.org, www.activist.ca and www.forumsocialmundial.org.br These are important sites to follow especially during the World Social Forum in Brazil and in the lead up to the G-8 meeting next summer in Kananaskis, Alberta.

The World Social Forum is being led by the Hemispheric Social Alliance whose Canadian member is Common Frontiers. The first forum was held just one year ago in Porto Alegre in response to an invitation from its mayor to gather people to look at real, practical alternatives for a "different world" from that proposed by the agenda of corporate globalization. The history of that first Forum, and also of this second one, is incredible.

Porto Alegre is a city of slightly over one million inhabitants in southern Brazil. The state government, and that of the city, is held by the Partido dos Tabaladores. The city has been transformed into a giant exercise in participatory democracy. When the organizers began preparing for the first forum, in January, 2001, they expected about 800 participants. Fifteen thousand came. At the conference it was agreed to hold another one year later and Porto Alegre was chosen to host it again. The organizers expected 15,000 participants. There will be at least 100,000. The forum will run for six days with over 2,500 workshops each day. The pundits would have us believe that corporate globalization is inevitable. The World Social Forum is designed to show that "another world is possible."

The Hemispheric Social Alliance, the organizing body coordinating the event along with an "army" of local volunteers, is a child conceived as a result of the Canadian struggle against free trade and came to birth in Brazil between 1988-1997 (a long pregnancy!) As a collaborative effort of labour unions, non-governmental organizations and citizens’ groups. From the very beginning it followed a different path from that of former coalitions. There is no demand for agreement on common positions and strategies. The grouping is conceived as broader, looser, with great diversity and that operates by consensus. If a consensus cannot be achieved, those groups who agree together are free to act. There was only one condition: that the organisational delegates really represent the interests of their people.

The organizational face of the Hemispheric Social Alliance includes an ongoing web-based virtual assembly that anyone can contribute to. There are also face-to-face Peoples’ Assemblies. The first was held in Chile and the second in Quebec last April (2001). A Hemispheric Council of 50-60 large continental organizations meets annually and an 8 member elected operational team hands the day-to-day work.

The Hemispheric Social Alliance has an "Alternative Proposal for the Americas," already into its fourth draft. (See www.web.net/comfront or www.forumsocialmundial.org.br for the text.

The Alliance sees itself facing two challenges:

1. That of drawing closer to direct action groups in order to achieve "protest with proposal."

2. That of building the alliance in each country through a popular referendum, survey or plebiscite on the corporate globalization agenda. The idea is to arrive at the next Summit of the Americas (in Argentina, March 2003) with a proposal coming from millions of people. A Hemispheric Day of Action will take place in November, 2002.

Alberto Arroyo, from Mexico, representing the Alliance, explained the corporate agenda as an attempt to create a legal constitution of the international rights of capital that would be over and above the laws and constitutions of any national State. Examples of this effort can be found in the failed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (TWO).

This corporate agenda is an effort to undermine all local achievements. Thus the importance of linking local struggles to global efforts. If we lose globally, we lose all our local successes. We defend our local and national governments, not as they are now, but transformed into truly multi-national, multi-cultural governments of participatory democracy. The counter-agenda for "another world" is being built together.