Paul Martin pandemonium

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by Craig Segal

Knowing that Finance Minister Paul Martin will be at Concordia Oct. 20 to espouse his devotion to globalization may not make you want to slap on your dancing shoes. Hell, it might even make you mad! But no one's madder than the Concordia Student Union (CSU), which was refused a debate with the former Town of Mount Royal resident. "We're worried Martin will turn it into a slick PR session for the upcoming federal election," says David Bernans, of the CSU. "And people with opposing views won't have enough time to talk." The CSU is frantically printing off fake Martin $20 bills to publicize a protest against the lecture.

Martin's speech goes down three days before he meets in Montreal with an international group of financiers to discuss globalization. Or, as critics like Derek MacCuish see it, "figuring out sneakier ways to exploit the world's poor." Martin's closed-door meeting, called the G20, is made up of 19 countries, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Activists are organizing a teach-in called Transforming the Global System, with their own international speakers to discuss the unadvertised dangers of global free trade. "It's an alternative G20," says event organizer MacCuish. "The big difference is that this is open and public."

Paul Martin's speech and the CSU demo, are Friday, Oct. 20, at Concordia University's Hall Building Auditorium at 7 p.m.

The teach-in happens Oct. 21 from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Check out www.g-20.net for a schedule, or call Derek at 933-6797.

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