UPDATED August 16, 2006
Report on the Resisting Atlantica Events Held in Saint John New Brunswick
-On Thursday- Saturday, June 8
-10, the Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce, held a 3
day conference at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre called
"Reaching Atlantica: Business without Boundaries” which
attracted 500 delegates from the business community. The main goal
of their conference was to discuss how to economically, socially
and politically integrate Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec with
Maine, NewHampshire, Vermont and upstate New York to form a single
coherent trade zone. Within this goal the proponents of Atlantica
wish to remove the things that they feel are barriers to business
and trade i.e. social programs such as EI, minimum wage
regulations and other labour standards, public services, public
health care, and the right to unionize.
-In response to this, events were organized by labour and social groups
in opposition to the business conference and their agenda under
the title of “Resisting Atlantica”
-On Thursday, June 8, approximately 300 people attended a Town Hall
Meeting at the Fort Howe Coastal Inn sponsored by the Council of
Canadians on the danger Atlantica poses to the people and
environment of Atlantic Canada. The panel at the meeting was made
up of Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians; Andrew Jackson, CLC; and
Matt Schlobohm, Maine Fair Trade Campaign with Leo Broderick,
Council of Canadians acting as the emcee. It was a very good
opening event with very good attendance. The panellists gave those
in attendance a good background on Atlantica and why it is
so dangerous to the average Atlantic Canadian. Many of those in
attendance also got up to the microphone to ask questions to
the panellists and express their concerns about Atlantica. Recording of the town hall meeting from radio4all.net
-On Friday, June 9, the 4 Atlantic Federations of Labour held a press
conference at the Saint John Free Public Library with Michel
Boudreau, President of the NBFL acting as the host for the event.
The press conference went well with good press and
public attendance and was getting good follow up coverage until
the arrests of the three protesters at the business conference
that afternoon caught the media’s attention. Link to the the press release that the press conference was based on.
-On Saturday, June 10, the final event for the weekend was a March and
Rally Sponsored by the Saint John District Labour Council and even
though it rained at times heavy on Saturday approximately 400
people attended. Speakers at the rally included Michel Boudreau,
President of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour; CLC
Secretary-Treasurer, Hassan Yussuff; Ron Oldfield, Saint John District
Labour Council; and Wayne Lucas, President CUPE NFLD. In his
speech, brother Lucas gave insider insight into what was being
discussed at the "Reaching Atlantica” conference as he and the
other CUPE Presidents from Atlantic Canada including Donalda
MacDonald from PEI attended the 3 day business conference to make
sure that labour would know what was being discussed. After the
Rally, those in attendance held a peaceful march down to
the Convention Center where the conference was being held.
Recording of the town hall meeting from radio4all.net
Press Release on Resisting Atlantica
“Atlantica” — Key Questions and Issues from a Labour Perspective
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