Chapter 5: International Trade Agreements and Organizations

International Business
Article Link: http://www.g20breakdown.com/g20-background/3reasonsprotestg20/

Article Title:  G20 PROTEST 
by Greg Shupak

Why did the G20 happen? Well the are many causes that lead to the horrible outcomes on June 18-28, 2010. It includes issues like poverty, climate change, gender equity, and other reasons as to why the riots occurred.

Lets begin with poverty. According to OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) representative John Clarke, "The whole process of putting together this grouping has been about impoverishing people, and benefiting the richest members of society." What this means is that OCAP is protesting a policy that would mandate governments to cut back on social spending and increase user rates and taxes in order to reduce deficits - this is a good thing because this policy would leave people in distraught and in poverty. Clarke also says that the money being used for the summit could also be used to cover the cost of social benefits in Ontario for the next five years. "It's deeply offensive, but in a bizarre sense there's also something strangely sitting about the representative of the wealthiest people on the planet getting together to devise an agenda of austerity and dinging us for $1 billion in the process."

Gender equity was also a huge part this rally, and is one of the vast reasons why it happened. Gender equity was also a huge part of this rally, and is one of the vast reasons why it happened.  Gender equity is what the G20 doesn't


Gender equity was also a huge part of this rally, and is one of the vast reasons why it happened. Gender equity is what the G20 doesn't pay much attention to according to Dagmar Werkmeister of Gender Justice in Toronto. “It’s illegal to be homosexual in more than seventy countries in the world, and they don’t do anything about that.” Instead, a hot topic in Canada, women's rights is what the conversation quickly shifts to. “It’s absolutely outrageous to have maternal and child health on an agenda when you’re not willing to talk about family planning,” said Werkmeister. “Women around the world are not going to be given the same rights that Canadian women are given in terms of when I reproduce, how I reproduce, or if I reproduce.”