First paragraph (Teaser):

Resist the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA -- a CONSULTA on anti-capitalist actions against the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City (April 2001) and beyond ... In anticipation of the mobilizations against April's Summit, two anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian groups based in Quebec City and Montreal are proposing a face-to-face consulta (consultation). The consulta will take place in Quebec City on January 27 and 28, and we are inviting groups and individuals who are in basic agreement with the principles of the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) and the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) (attached below).

Rest of the text:

[The following is a second call-out for the CONSULTA (consultation) in Quebec City being hosted by the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) of Quebec City and the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) of Montreal on January 27-28. The agenda of the consulta is included below. If you intend on attending the consulta, which will include activists and organizers from all over the Northeastern USA as well as Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes, please e-mail casa...@hotmail.com soon to help us plan to welcome you. See you soon.]

Resist the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA --

a CONSULTA on anti-capitalist actions against the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City (April 2001) and beyond ...

WHEN:
January 27-28, 2001

WHERE:
Quebec City

WHO:
YOU! ... organizers and representatives of groups and collectives opposing the FTAA, the Summit of the Americas and capitalist globalization -- from Quebec, Ontario, the Maritimes, Canada, the Northeastern USA and elsewhere ...

HOSTS:
The Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee/Le Comité d'Accueil du Sommet des Amériques (CASA) -- Quebec City
AND
The Anti-Capitalist Convergence/La Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes (CLAC) -- Montreal

TO REGISTER, E-MAIL:
casa...@hotmail.com

Next April 20-22, 2001, Quebec City has the dubious honor of hosting the Summit of the Americas, which brings together the 34 heads of state of North, South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean (except Cuba). In the context of the largest police and security operation in Canadian history, the Summit aims to talk about security and terrorism, and utter empty rhetoric about democracy and human rights. One major goal of the Summit is to put the final touches on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement.

In anticipation of the mobilizations against April's Summit, two anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian groups based in Quebec City and Montreal are proposing a face-to-face consulta (consultation). The consulta will take place in Quebec City on January 27 and 28, and we are inviting groups and individuals who are in basic agreement with the principles of the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) and the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) (attached below).

There are several components to the consulta (agenda below):

· sharing basic information about the FTAA, the Summit of the Americas as well as the local situation in Quebec City;

· providing an "activist tour" of Quebec City for out-of-towners;

· discussing and debating action strategies (in Quebec City and elsewhere) against the Summit of the Americas next April 20-22;

· coordinating strategies;

· discussing how to strengthen anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian networks of resistance;

· getting to know each other and sharing our experiences of resistance and revolt.

For the hosts -- CASA and CLAC -- the consulta allows us to better prepare for the major mobilizations next April, as well as to help lay the groundwork for ongoing anti-capitalist actions beyond April.

For attendees, we hope to provide you with solid information that will be useful to your own local mobilizing efforts (whether you plan on coming to Quebec City or not), as well as to get acquainted with Quebec-based organizers and activists. The consulta is being held in late-January to provide an almost three-month window to mobilize for Quebec City in April.

CASA and CLAC will be able to offer basic housing (with local activists) to people coming from out-of-town. We will also endeavor to provide cheap meals during the consulta. We ask that you pay your own way to get to Quebec City, and donate what you can towards expenses while here.

CASA and CLAC are trying to ensure broad participation of anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian organizers, especially from marginalized communities. We will try to subsidize such participants as much as our budget will permit. We ask for your help in ensuring a representative turnout, either by sharing rides, or with donations if you can spare the cash. Also, please share info about the consulta with other radical, anti-capitalist networks that might not otherwise see this e-mail.

The entire consulta will be accessible to both English and French speakers. There will also be Spanish translation on request, and childcare if needed.

If you are planning on attending the consulta, or to get more information, please e-mail casa...@hotmail.com. Please specify how many people are coming from your area.

CONSULTA AGENDA:

[Please note: The exact site of the Consulta in Quebec City will be known within a week. We are waiting to see if the Consulta will have between 50-100 participants, or even more, which means we will have an even larger space for meetings. We will let consulta participants know as soon as we do.]

--- Friday, January 26th ---

Arrivals in Quebec City [The Consulta begins at 9am (sharp) on Saturday morning, so participants are strongly encouraged to arrive no later than Friday night.]

Although not officially part of the Consulta programme, CASA will also be sponsoring an evening panel event that will include Dave Bleakney of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (which is a former convenor of the People's Global Action (PGA) network) and Gaetan Heroux of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). The event will start after 7pm with the location to be announced soon. It is at this location that consulta participants will arrive to receive their information kits as well as housing assignments.

--- Saturday, January 27th ---

9am (sharp) to 12pm: An activist walking tour of Quebec City. We will get a sense of the city, including key sites during the Summit of the Americas. The walking tour also includes some background to local popular struggles. Undoubtedly, we will also visit the proposed security perimeter for the Summit meeting in April.

12pm to 1:30pm: Lunch

1:30pm to 3pm: Background presentations on "What is the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA"; "Quebec Movements against Capitalist Globalization"; and "Resistance Struggles in Quebec City and Quebec"

3pm to 6pm: Facilitated discussion on actions plans for next April 2001, both for the mobilization in Quebec City, and also for coordinated actions all over North America.

6pm to 8pm: Dinner [One floor of a local bar will be reserved for consulta participants until late into the night.]

--- Sunday, January 28th ---

10am to 12pm: Facilitated discussion on mobilizing efforts between now and April 2001, both for Quebec City, and for local anti-FTAA, anti-capitalist actions.

12pm to 1pm: Lunch

1pm to 3pm: Facilitated discussion on mobilizing and actions after April 2001, as well as building our anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian networks.

3pm to 5pm: Workshops on legal issues, medical teams as well as other topics.

[NOTE: If consulta participants are considering arriving earlier in the week, they might want to attend some events in Montreal. On January 23, the CLAC will be convening a General Assembly, which begins at 6pm for newcomers, at L'X (182, Ste-Catherine East, metro Berri-UQAM). On January 24, some members of the CLAC are sponsoring an event called "The Colour of Anarchy" featuring Lorenzo Komboa Ervin (former Black Panther, community activist, and author of "Anarchy and the Black Revolution"). The event starts at 7pm, also at L'X. On the evening on January 26, there will be a Teach-in on globalization at Concordia University, with panelists including Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, Sunera Thobani (a Women's Studies professor from Vancouver) and Debra Harry (of the Indigenous Council on Biocolonialism). The event starts at 7pm at 1455 de Maisonneuve West (metro Guy-Concordia) and leaves enough time to catch a bus or drive to Quebec City to arrive at 1am. The same evening, there will also be another panel event in Quebec City, including Dave Bleakney of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Gaetan Heroux of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). Location to be announced soon.]

"It didn't start in Seattle ... and it sure as hell isn't going to stop with Quebec."

casa...@hotmail.com

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Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) -- Québec City
(CASA : le Comité d'Accueil du Sommet des Amériques)
GOALS AND PRINCIPLES (unofficial translation from the French)

Next April 2001, 34 heads of state will be meeting in Quebec City with the goal of creating a free-trade zone that will extend from one end of the Americas to the other -- the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Accelerating both social and ecological degradation -- these leaders aim to extend the reach of capitalism, subjecting our lives to the domination of the commodity economy. In the face of this systematic dispossession of our political power, resistance is essential. This April 2001, a "welcoming committee" will be will waiting for them.

In the absence of a grassroots, radical and anti-capitalist opposition to the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA in Quebec City, we propose the creation of the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA). This coalition of individuals, much like the CLAC (The Anti-Capitalist Convergence in Montreal), comes together on the following principles:

-- Anti-Capitalist

In opposition to the growing tentacles of capitalist globalization, the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) aims to create an anti-capitalist platform for discussion and action. No matter what form it has taken in history (liberal, statist, mercantile, neo-liberal, or even "with a human face") capitalism has always been about the domination of commodities over individuals. Following the logic of profits, the
capitalist system monopolizes all social space, reducing human beings to simply producers/consumers, much like the environment becomes only a multitude of resources ready for exploitation.

-- Anti-Patriarchy

From its origins, the capitalist system was founded on patriarchal domination. Social relationships have been interwoven by this centuries-old ideology that affects all aspects of our lives. This ideological system creates a global system of masculine-based tyranny. When even the existence of the ideology and practice of feminism is more and more put into question, we reaffirm that only a full understanding of structural oppression will allow us to envisage a society that is radically equal.

-- Refusal of Hierarchy

It's clear that that such a project, radically equal, can only come about in the absence of hierarchical dynamics. We don't just denounce all forms of servitude and exploitation of individuals, groups and peoples, but we believe in putting into practice this basic principle within resistance groups themselves and in our day-to-day activities. Hence, CASA offers a radical opposition to the Summit of the Americas and similar processes by organizing in an anti-authoritarian manner. Bringing together individuals, the Welcoming Committee is structured around a democratic, open and decisional general assembly. Anyone in accord with the values and principles of CASA are urged to actively participate in accord with their respective affinities.

-- Autonomy

Aiming to create as many links as possible, with the goal of strengthening networks of resistance, CASA is autonomous of all forms of authority (parties, unions, etc.). We refuse to organize our actions in view of its eventual mass media impact, which we consider to be a form of disempowerment and subjection.

-- Non-reformist

It is within the perspective of a radical transformation of society that CASA adopts a confrontational attitude and rejects reformist alternatives such as lobbying within the framework of negotiations of free trade accords. We regard these strategies as not being able to have a positive impact, and we exclude use of these types of anti-democratic processes.

-- Diversity of Tactics

Respecting a diversity of tactics, CASA supports the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging from popular education to direct action.

In supporting these principles, the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee aims to build a radical and resolute opposition to capitalism, and to its lackeys who will be meeting in Quebec City to negotiate the FTAA. The Summit of the Americas will be held in the middle of a Carnival of Resistance that will converge various social movements, and in which CASA intends to play an active role. While waiting to see capitalism crushed by the blows of a new revolutionary movement, CASA intends to derail the FTAA and unhinge the power of the leaders of the Americas. Anyone in agreement with these principles, and who wish to prepare a "warm and thoughtful welcoming," are encouraged to get involved.

temporary e-mail: la_c...@hotmail.com

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The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) -- Montreal
(CLAC: La Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes)
BASIS OF UNITY (translation from the French)

1. The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC in French) is opposed to capitalism. We fundamentally reject a social and economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and exchange. We reject a system driven by an exploitative logic that sees human beings as human capital, ecosystems as natural resources, and culture as simply a commodity. We reject the idea that the world is only valuable in terms of profit, competition and efficiency.

2. The CLAC also rejects the ideology of neo-liberalism, whereby corporations and investors are exempt from all political and social measures that interfere with their so-called "success".

3. The CLAC is anti-imperialist, opposed to patriarchy, and denounces all forms of exploitation and oppression. We assert a worldview based on the respect of our differences and the autonomy of groups, individuals and peoples. Our objective is to globalize our networks of resistance to corporate rule.

4. Respecting a diversity of tactics, the CLAC supports the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging between popular education to direct action.

5. The CLAC is autonomous, decentralized and non-hierarchical. We encourage the involvement of anyone who accepts this statement of principles. We also encourage the participation of all individuals in working groups, in accord with their respective political affiliations.

6. With regards to the Summit of the Americas (April 2001) and the negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the CLAC adopts a confrontational attitude and rejects reformist alternatives such as lobbying which cannot have a major impact on anti-democratic processes. We intend to shut down the Summit of the Americas and to turn the FTAA negotiations into a non-event.

e-mail: c...@tao.ca
web: http://www.quebec2001.net
tel: +1 514 526-8946
post: 2035, St-Laurent Boulevard, 2nd floor
Montreal, Quebec H2X 2T3 CANADA

[For more information about the January 27-28 Consulta, or to register, please e-mail casa_clac_consulta@hotmail.com]