Winnipeg Demonstration Opposes GATS

Over 100 students and trade unionists marched from the University of Winnipeg to City Hall in the early afternoon of November 9 to protest continuing negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The demonstration was organized by the University of Winnipeg Students Association (UWSA) and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). Both organizations fear that GATS will lead to the privatization of Canadian universities.

A rally on the steps of City Hall was addressed by representatives of the UWSA and CFS, as well as by anti-globalization activist Rob Altemeyer and Winnipeg North-Centre MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis. They called on all levels of government to oppose the measures being proposed through the GATS talks. It was announced that representatives from the city and provincial governments were also invited to speak, but declined.