Concordia students to protest the G8 in Ottawa

In what is becoming a new ritual of spring, students and other groups are once again preparing to protest against globalization.
Last April between 25,000 to 30,000 protesters trekked to Quebec City in order to express their dissatisfaction with government leaders meeting behind closed doors at the Summit of the Americas.
This year, buses are being organized to take all those interested to Ottawa to decry a meeting of the G8 being held in Kananaskis, Alberta. Demonstrators decided to hold the protest in Ottawa as a rallying point for all those in Eastern Canada and North-Eastern United States who could not make it all the way to the small Alberta resort town.
This protest is expected to reunite the same diverse group of union activists, students, religious groups, anarchists and environmentalists that went to FTAA protest in Quebec City. The Quebec branch of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS-Q) is organizing buses going from Montreal to Ottawa for the protest. The student rights advocacy group has ample experience with such organizing, having in the past spearheaded demonstrations in Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City.
“There’s a need [for this kind of organizing],” said Roddy Doucet the
secretary-treasurer of the CFS-Q and a Concordia student. “The CFS is glad to help in any way it can.” According to CFS-Q Chair Aimee van Drimmelen and a Concordia student, these kinds of activities are not simply aimed at domestic policies, but also to shed light on problems faced by those in other countries without the kind of social structure already developed in Canada.
“The main agenda of the G8 is privatization,” said van Drimmelen. “The process is taking advantages of countries without a strong social structure. Although it is affecting our education to a certain degree, when it comes to other parts of the world, they are being told that they have to accept [the privatization of social programs].”
The G8 is made of the seven most prosperous economies and Russia. This year Canada is playing host to the groups annual summit, where leaders are expected to discuss economic development in Africa, the ongoing ‘war on terrorism’ and free trade.
So far, about 200 to 250 people have signed up for the buses to Ottawa, but van Drimmelen expects a rush on bookings this week, the deadline being June 21. She hopes 35 buses will be sent to Ottawa.
Tickets for the protest are being sold for $10 and can only be picked up at the CFS-Q’s office at 1242 Mackay. For more information or to reserve tickets call 931-2377.