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(Day 25 of the Hunger Strike and Day 1 of the Miami FTAA Meetings)

Noon – 1 PM Vigil in Solidarity with Miami Protestors, World Trade Centre (at Canada Place), Downtown Vancouver

The activists are currently maintaining a continuous vigil at the Peace Arch and have set up a small camp there. They plan on continuing the hunger strike over the weeks leading up to the FTAA’s Ministerial in Miami on November 20th and 21st.

The activists presented a series of principles that they would like the Federal government to take immediate action on (see below). They also asked Vancouver City Council to declare Vancouver an “FTAA-free zone.”

Maude Barlow, National Chairperson for the Council of Canadians expressed her support for the hunger strikers by saying, “I deeply believe that they are trying to bring attention to all Canadians about what this potential threat is. We want to be there beside the strikers to provide support and provide information as to what it is that would drive someone to do that.”

One of the hunger strikers, Melissa Garcia Lamarca, said that she felt motivated to join the strike because, “it is critical for people around the world to act in solidarity, to show that we oppose trade agreements that benefit a select few at the expense and suffering of many.”

In recent years, representatives from 34 countries including Canada have been working to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is another example of the free-market fundamentalism that has created a global race-to-the-bottom that threatens the environment, families' livelihoods, human rights, and democracy. Once again, a sweeping "free trade" agreement is in the works that puts commercial interests above these values.

Principles for Immediate Action

1. The City of Vancouver pass a resolution declaring Vancouver an FTAA-free zone

2. The Federal Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew come to Vancouver and meet with the hunger strikers at our protest site before he attends the FTAA Summit in Miami this November.

3. The Canadian government commence action to repeal the investor-state provision of NAFTA (chapter 11) and preclude it's inclusion in the FTAA

4. Before any Americas trade deal is signed by Canada, the Canadian government must take action to ensure that the rights of all of this continent's peoples are protected by a written code of human rights, signed by all countries involved, with real enforceable provisions

5. A federal referendum be held to determine our (Canadian) participation in all present and future International Trade Agreements.

6. The FTAA not infringe on the right of local indigenous communities and nations to govern themselves, including the ability of those local communities and nations to control resources and lands within their territories

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