People are occupying Memorial Park in front of the Manitoba Legislature as a presence of peace and possibility for our future, in the place where so many of the decisions that shape our future are made. A belief in love, hope, and optimism resonates through the crowd. “We are sometimes chilled to the bone, but not to the heart!” expressed one rosy cheeked occupier on the second day.
Here are people who have devoted their lives to a cause, and people who have never been inspired to action until now. Some noticed the tents, came to ask questions, and stayed to join the movement. Others remember the protests of the sixties and seventies and came to offer a lifetime of experience to a new generation.
Occupy Winnipeg brings together interests and concerns from all directions. Discussions around the Sacred Fire address (but are not limited to) climate change, electoral reform, the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered women, labour, immigration, Boreal Forest, Indigenous Rights, Canadian Wheat Board, trade justice, public services – more ideas arise every day, and pathways to change take shape.
The Council of Canadians brings a specific and very timely issue to the conversation: trade justice and the ongoing parade of “free” trade agreements that are never about freedom or better trade opportunities for the “99%”. The Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada is the latest and the worst of these yet, with major negotiations concluding last week in Ottawa.
Many of the Occupy Movement’s ideals are directly at odds with CETA’s goals of creating trade deals that favour profit-blinded corporate interests and repress local people’s decision-making rights.
Whatever it is that draws each of us to Occupy Winnipeg, all occupiers agree that we can no longer allow our world to be ruled by greed, and overcome by anger, fear and despair. We are willing to transcend differences and discover how to fit our unique puzzle pieces together into one coherent image of hope.
Everyone is invited to come by for a visit, and experience it for yourself!
Contributor: Mary Robinson – Council of Canadians Winnipeg Chapter Member