Capitalists are salivating at the prospects offered by Mark Carney’s wealth concentrating, ecocidal policies. With his upcoming Canada Investment Summit set to consolidate the prime minister’s militarist and anti-indigenous agenda, join David Suzuki, Yann Martel, Roger Waters, Ellen Gabriel and 150 other authors, artists, academics and activists in calling to “Confront Carney’s CEO Summit”.
In “Will Mark Carney put our airports on the block? PM likely to signal which Canadian assets are for sale at summit”, business columnist Adam Radwanski wrote in Tuesday’s Toronto Star, “The Canada Investment Summit, taking place on Sept. 14 and 15, has flown under the radar for many Canadians since the Prime Minister announced plans for it last spring. But that certainly hasn’t been the case on Bay Street. The buzz, in those circles, mostly seems positive.”
Last week the Financial Post quoted an executive director of Australia’s $250 billion IFM Investors fund, Gian-Carlo Peressutti, saying he expected the Toronto summit would be where Carney lays out his roadmap to privatize Canada’s major airports. The paper reported, “Mark Carney’s government is serious about selling airports to private investors and could unveil steps to move in that direction when large fund managers gather in September at his Canada Investment Summit, according to an executive at a multi-billion-dollar Australian infrastructure investor that is keen to buy up to $10 billion of Canadian assets over the next decade.”
The first-of-its-kind CEO summit will include officials from the US$1.3 trillion investment firms Blackstone and US$900 billion GIC as well as representatives of Saudi Arabia’s US$900 billion Public Investment Fund. Reportedly, Canada’s venture capital and private equity association is hosting a forum on the sidelines of the summit. Throughout the summit Toronto’s financial district will likely be the site of other capitalist “breakout sessions”.
In response, there will be a number of counter forums and rallies. At its May 25 conference in Toronto the Capitalist Can’t be Fixed campaign announced its intention to organize a “Carnival against Capitalism”. On the Sunday evening before the summit begins there will be a forum and a rally during the first day. Others are organizing a daylong conference on the Saturday. As part of building momentum for the counter protest, the Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed campaign just released a public letter signed by David Suzuki, Yann Martel, Roger Waters, Ellen Gabriel, El Jones, Sid Ryan, and 150 other authors, artists, academics and activists.
“Confront Carney’s CEO Summit” notes:
“On September 14–15, Mark Carney will host what he describes as “the world’s largest investors” at a conference in Toronto. Leading capitalists, financial institutions and investment funds will gather for the first-ever Canada Investment Summit. Presented as a strategy to attract investment, the summit will accelerate the extraction of ecologically damaging resources. It will also further open public property to capitalist interests.
“The summit showcases and will consolidate Carney’s pro-corporate, militarist and anti-ecological agenda. At a time of unprecedented global heat waves, Carney is advancing new fossil fuel infrastructure. His Major Projects Office weakens environmental oversight and tramples on Indigenous rights in order to fast-track energy and critical minerals projects. His government is also undermining Health Canada restrictions on pesticides in the interests of corporate profit.
“As insecurity from climate disruption grows and more than 60,000 Canadians sleep on the streets each night, Carney has dramatically increased military spending. While this is a windfall for arms companies, the militarist agenda is a threat to peace, public service workers and social programs that disproportionately benefit the working class and poor.
“At a time of the greatest economic inequality in generations, Carney moved quickly to cut taxes on capital gains, big tech and other large enterprises. Incredibly, 86 Canadian billionaire families already control more wealth than the country’s 6.2 million least wealthy families combined. One Canadian alone possesses roughly $150 billion in wealth, while the world has now produced its first trillionaire.
“Carney’s wealth-concentrating agenda must be resisted.
“The Canada Investment Summit provides an opportunity for environmental, labour, Indigenous, housing, peace and social justice movements to come together in opposition to the government’s pro-corporate, militarist and anti-ecological agenda.
“We invite organizations and individuals across these movements to join us.”
Please share and sign the public letter and you can join an organizing meeting on August 4.
Support Yves’ work. Donate Now.
You must be logged in to post a comment.