$483 ;

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Fits me 7

The Cadre ;

17 February 1998

Local WUSC goes to Sackville to represent UPEI

BY EMILY LEDWELL

On the weekend of Janu- ary 30 to February 1, three members of the World Uni- versity Service of Canada (WUSC) Local Committee went to Sackville, NB, to rep- resent UPEI at Mount Allison’s WUSC Symposium “Globalization: Should We Buy Into It?”

WUSC is an organiza- tion which involves Canadian communities in social and aca- demic development at home and abroad. Because of WUSC's goals, the idea of globalization is an important one for discussion and debate.

The symposium high- lighted a diverse and impres- sive variety of speakers. Sid Pobihushchy and Eric Claus of Co-op Atlantic, and econo- mists Frank Strain of Mount Allisonand Richard Nimijean of Carleton spoke about glo- balization as an economic phe- nomenon of global production and profit.

On one hand, globaliza- tion can be good. It breaks down barriers to trade, and encourages geographical ex- pansion of the market system.

But on the other hand, globalization can be a danger. It limits the role of the state, replaces political rules with market rules, and may result in the extension of capitalism on a world scale. It is a process evolving in unpredictable ways.

The keynote speaker of the symposium, Innu chief Daniel Ashini, furthered the discussion by reminding the audience of the impact globali- zation has not only on the economy, but on cultures, com- munications, and education as well. For Ashini and the Innu people, economics, while im- portant, are merely one aspect of our cultural systems, which are merely aspects of our eco- system and natural order.

As globalization creates complex (and fragile) socie- ties, the challenge this com- plexity puts to young people is to maintain the balance be- tween our economies and our cultures, to sustain our lands, and to be self-sufficient. The rest of the day's speakers, pro- fessors and community work- ers from Atlantic Canada, ex- plored the different ways one

can maintain this balance. “Live simply so others can sim- ply live,” Ghandi said.

The final event of the symposium was a panel dis- cussion about the Multi-Lat- eral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which nee the most complicated and press- ing symptoms of globalization.

The treaty, negotiated by the OECD countries, opens Canada’s national borders for investment and allows Cana- dian Transnationals to invest in other countries, but critics are concerned it will impact negatively on Canadian cul- ture, social services and sov- ereignty. A debate took place between Tony Clarke and Fred McMahon, during which many of these criticism and solutions were discussed.

It was a slightly over- whelming but successful week- end. If you have any questions about the symposium or about WUSC, contact Kerry Maze or Jolyn Campbell at Teale ei.ca or jycampbel i.ca,andkeep your eyes open for WUSC upcoming events.

24 HOUR DIVORCES

GUARANTEED!!!!

WILLIAMS & HIGGS ATTORNEYS Have one too many, and you might [==s==e~ rs)

do something you'll regret later.