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for the G7 Economic Summit, Halifax, June 1995
Submitted to The Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, G7 Economic
Summit Chairperson; May 30, 1995.
We, the undersigned group of Canadian citizens, wish to express concern that:
- the health of our atmosphere, our water, our forests, and our soils, our bioregions, our
communities, our inner cities, our families and our economic systems is deteriorating;
- rising financial indebtedness is eroding personal and political sovereignty - subjecting
our leaders, our children and ourselves to the servitude of debt;
- the instability of international currency markets is increasing, - leaving individuals,
businesses and nations hostage to higher interest rates and injurious consequences of
speculation;
- the current economic systems are not meeting the goals of basic sufficiency, improving
standards of living and quality of life, full employment, opportunities for youth, human
rights, gender equality, and social and eco-justice for all. Such growing disparities - as
evident in inner cities and more generally between rich and poor, between North and South,
- are unhealthy and untenable.
We believe that:
- the Global Commons - including the global communications highway, near space, and our
intellectual and cultural resources - must be treated as the heritage of all humanity and
must be responsibly managed in trust for all future generations yet to come;
- the present issues of financial stability, global security, sovereignty, equity,
justice, personal and societal growth, rights, responsibilities, and of the stewardship of
the Global Commons are fundamentally different from the more focussed concerns and
policies of reconstruction and development faced by the world at the end of World War II,
when many of our present international institutions were formed;
- behaviours, which value consumption beyond reasonable need and which harvest the
biosphere beyond its annual sustainable yields in the name of development, are no longer
viable;
- the world is entering a new era of global inter-dependence and synergy among individuals
and cultures, and between humanity and the planet itself. Increasing participation of
civil society in the political process is due to the emancipation of individuals, to
education and to our advancement to higher levels of development;
- the next phase of social and economic activity must be predicated on more ethical
values, on the principles of stewardship, caring for all creation, ecological renewal,
respect for strength in diversity, and of the restoration of sovereignty over the
servitude of debt.
We note the historic convergence of two international political debates in Halifax:
- from The Naples 1994 Economic Summit - which placed the issues of sustainable
development and institutional change on the Halifax 1995 Economic Summit Agenda, and
- from The Copenhagen 1995 World Summit for Social Development - which also referred to
the Halifax G7 Economic Summit the emerging global awareness of the need for financial
reform as central to the resolution of social and ecological concerns.
We therefore propose that the leadership of the Halifax G7 Economic Summit:
I. Proclaim the Global Commons
Given that 'over-arching' jurisdiction over the Global Commons is beyond the
sovereignty of any one nation, the leadership of the G7 nations at this Summit is
requested to:
proclaim the principle that the Global Commons is the heritage of humanity, of all
present and future generations;
protect this heritage and initiate a detailed study to design methods for humankind to
preserve and effectively regulate the use of the Global Commons. Such a study should
include ways of:
- defining optimal conditions for the preservation and uses of the various Commons
including methods of establishing best practices, standards, regulations etc,
- establishing a fairer distribution of costs and benefits of the use of the Global
Commons; implementing strategies for the imposition of licences, royalties, user fees
and/or levies; determining the various uses of those funds (e.g. social / environmental /
peacekeeping) and methods of allocations between these uses; and
- establishing and vesting responsibility in an international authority with the mandate
for effective policing.
II. Restore Monetary Stability and Personal and Political Sovereignty
New ways to restore personal and political sovereignty over the servitude of debt must
be found. This must include curbing international speculation, money laundering and the
use of tax havens. It would enable global resources to be redirected to the emerging
priorities, life-long learning, personal growth, local social and ecological investments,
the protection of bioregions, the promotion of healthy cities and sustainability of rural
areas. It would initiate the process of the restoration of personal and political
sovereignty.
We therefore recommend that the G7 leadership support and participate in a detailed
review to curtail international tax avoidance and speculative strategies. This review
should examine ways for the monetary and political authorities of effectively curtailing
international currency speculation including:
- imposing a special international tax on currency trading to be levied at the same time
as normal brokerage commissions to fund global social and ecological renewal;
- establishing special "circuit breakers" for currency markets similar to the
Wall Street cessation of program trading in times of high volatility;
- reducing leverage by increasing required margins by the Exchanges and making currency
speculation less attractive.
III. Accelerate Economic Conversion
With the end of the cold war, the opportunity exists to redirect resources toward more
peaceful methods of dispute resolution. Economic conversion to these ends is both
necessary and possible. The reorientation of scarce resources toward environmental
regeneration, social development, education and health can become the new socioeconomic
engines of all societies.
We recommend that the G7 show leadership to all nations by championing such domestic
and international conversions. Such conversions must be designed to reduce the causes and
capacity for armed conflict, and establish a surer bawis for democracy, economic
sufficiency, literacy, equality, health, and social integration.
IV. Facilitate Debt Writeoffs
On top of traditional foreign exchange difficulties and chronic problems of debt
servicing, many countries face desperate problems of climate uncertainty, chronic drought,
the removal of their forest cover, and new threats of disease and famine. These are no
longer solely local problems. They are matters of global concern, posing threats beyond
national boundaries.
We recommend that the leadership of the G7 Nations initiate a new program of debt
writeoffs for such countries, particularly with multi-lateral lending institutions, and
simultaneously examine new ways of providing international assistance for the purposes of
soil conservation and restoration of local ecologies. We further recommend that a portion
of such assistance no longer be tied to interests of the donor countries, but be made
available to local areas to generate new local solutions in locally creative ways.
V. Fulfil Recent International Commitments
Social, ecological and economic issues are now converging. Commitments made in
international agreements are only achieved when they are fully acted on by the responsible
international, national and local authorities. The leadership of the G7 nations is
respectfully requested to ensure that new commitments to all agreements in recent
international meetings, including The Children's Summit, New York ('90); The Earth Summit,
Rio de Janeiro ('92); The UN Human Rights Conference, Vienna ('93); The UN Population
Conference, Cairo ('94); and The World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen ('95) are
translated into action.
Opportunities
The adoption of the above proposals by the G7 leadership at this Summit will help us
all to:
- preserve the health of humanity and the ecology of the Global Commons for future
generations;
- improve the economic climate, monetary and fiscal stability and curb speculation;
- foster the increasing participation of civil society in the collective decisions
affecting us;
- re-establish personal and political sovereignty over the increasing servitude of debt.
Signed
Marilyn Ashby, Glenview co-Convenor; Coordinator Campaign for the Earth, Canada;
Representative to WSSD; Member Junior League of Toronto; Past Chair Markham Social
Planning Council; former National Board Member Canadian Home and School Association.
John Benesh, International Business Consultant, Lawyer, Educator, Associate member of
the Niagara Institute, Former Executive Director of the Canadian Bar Association, active
in many volunteer capacities.
Sam Bowman, Representative for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture to WSSD;
Proponent for the Rights of the Child; 40 year Veteran of social, cultural and economic
development initiatives.
Tim Johnson, Professional Agrologist, Financial Planner; Member Social Investment
Organisation.
John Maskell, Glenview Convenor; entrepreneur, professional economic developer; part
time graduate student; Representative to WSSD for Faculty of Environmental Studies, U of
Waterloo; Elder, Mennonite Church.
Ron McDonald, Executive Director 'Self-Help Development' Zambia, 30 years experience in
local development in a wide variety of executive, managerial advisory and practical roles.
The Reverend David Pfrimmer, Director Lutheran Office for Public Policy
Sahira Piracha, representative to WSSD; Prep Com III for Coalition of the Rights of
Children; Youth Ambassador to the World Summit for Children; former Director of Canada 125
Corporation.
Thomas Ponniah, Professor, Community Workers Programme, George Brown College.
Malcolm Shookner, Ontario Social Development Council, NGO Delegate to WSSD.
Naresh Singh, Program Director for Poverty, Empowerment and United Nations Activities,
International Institute for Sustainable Development; Adjunct Professor, University of
Manitoba; Fellow, Lester Pearson Institute, Dalhousie U; former Executive Director
Caribbean Environmental Health Institute.
Laila Smith, Youth Coordinator of Canadian NGO Delegation to WSSD; Liaison officer,
Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
Muriel Smith, NGO delegate to WSSD; Vice President, United Nations Association, Canada.
Jerzey A. Wojciechowski, Professor Emeritus, Philosophy, Ottawa U; Past President and
First Honorary Member Canadian Philosophical Association; member, Canadian Association of
The Club of Rome; Originator of the Theory of The Ecology of Knowledge.
Jeremy Wright, President, The Wellness Foundation, former senior economist Social
Policy, Privy Council Office, and recent senior advisor to the Canadian Federation of
Labour on Canada/ US Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA. 
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