By Kalapi Roy, for the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA)

by Deborah Stienstra for FAFIA. This paper maps where commitments have been made by the Canadian governments on gender and the economy and who is responsible for policies related to them. This identifies some of the ways in which women in Canada can become aware of who makes decisions about the global economy, hold them accountable for these decisions and ensure that women’s situations and perspectives are part of all decision-making about the economy.

The latest rounds of negotiations by the World Trade Organization and the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement form the current context for FAFIA’s research on trade and globalisation. Both of these grant strong rights to corporations and business at the expense of human and women’s rights.

The “Millennium Round” of the World Trade Organization (WTO) occurred in Seattle, Washington, the week of November 29, 1999. While the WTO proclaims the virtues of free and globalized trade for all and claims itself as an impartial trade policeman, it is clear that WTO policies benefit the corporate interests of rich and industrialized countries at the expense of the social dimension of trade policies, human rights, environmental protections, and the fair and equitable distribution of the world’s wealth and resources.