OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Despite facing blatant obstruction by the various levels of government, the Council of Canadians, the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, along with other organisations and concerned citizens will be in Calgary for the G8 Summit that will be held in Kananaskis on June 26 and 27.

"The G8 Summit will affect the lives of millions across the planet", says Maude Barlow, Volunteer Chairperson of the 100,000-member Council of Canadians. "Unfortunately, the G8's only ideas are the same worn out recipes of trade liberalisation, privatisation and free movement of capital that are the root causes that exacerbated the many problems of the global economy. The G8 is the force driving corporate globalisation by establishing the direction taken by the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF. Even worse, the Chrétien government has been trying to prevent opponents to corporate globalisation from challenging this agenda and discussing alternatives. But we will be there to present positive ideas that are more in tune with real citizen-based democracy."

Gerry Barr, President and CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, says that "it's good to see Africa on the G8 agenda, but the plan that world leaders will discuss next week will do little to aid African development and in fact it's more likely to contribute to deepening poverty."

Bruce Cockburn, the world-renowned singer and activist, is concerned by the current state of democracy in Canada: "Canadians want their values to be reflected in the actions of their governments. We need to clearly say that spending $500 million on a 2-day meeting that will be guarded by 5,000 troops to silence our right to express ourselves is not the Canada that we grew up in and not the image that we should present to the world."

"Canadians need to express their compassion for a better world and challenge the dog-eat-dog world that is being proposed by the G8 leaders."

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