JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - In a nearly two-hour meeting with Canadian NGO's and civil society groups, Canada's negotiators to the WSSD admitted the federal government's support of the private sector's control of human rights and environmental outcomes of this conference.

According to a DFAIT official, "International processes are cumbersome. It's much more efficient to let partnerships implement government policy. Private sector does it best."

Canadian negotiators also admitted during the meeting that they were looking to implement the recommendations from the Doha Ministerial Declaration (on WTO's management of the environmental agenda) and the Monterrey Ministerial Declaration (on WTO's stand on financial development).

"It is now clear that we have been right all along, said Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. "The Canadian government is not here to bring environmental issues and human rights to the top of the agenda: it is here to make sure the business agenda dominates the discourse.

"This is pure hypocrisy from the government. It has led its citizens to believe it is going to Johannesburg for the sake of the planet, and claims to be playing the role of mediator between diverging views. Now, they admit that they are using the process as if it was merely another international trade conference.

"The federal government's abdication of its obligations and responsibilities to the private sector, whose practices are at the heart of the problem, is a blow to democracy."

This admission of a business-led agenda for Canada in Johannesburg gives credence to the growing rumour that over 25% of the Canadian negotiators are representatives of the private sector and not from the government. After many requests, DFAIT still refuses to release the list of negotiators.

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