Point: The G20 Summit will benefit Toronto, Canada and the rest of the world
The G20 summit is set to take place in Toronto from June 26-27. This is a valuable opportunity for this city and all of Canada. The G20 is comprised of the heads of government, central bank governors, and the finance ministers of the 20 largest economies in the world. Together, these nations account for 85% of the global gross national product, and nearly as much of world trade. The stated purpose of the G20 is, “[t]o bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.” This meeting will bring the eyes of the world to Toronto.
This summit’s themes include reform of the financial sector in the wake of the world credit crisis. Its participants will endeavor to enact reforms to combat weak the banking regulations that encouraged risky behavior from the banks and corporations. This is an important first step towards recovery in the current economic crisis. Canada is a prime venue for this discussion as our own banks were some of the strongest in the wake of this crisis due to our conservative regulations. In essence, we knew how much money we could loan people. The summit will give Canada a stronger voice than an economic committee of the United Nations would otherwise allow. Being a founding member of the G20, Canada has long held a prominent role in the organization.
Additionally, a global stimulus plan will be discussed, so the major economies can coordinate their reactions to the credit crunch without fear of falling into the trap of protectionism. If such a plan were to be enacted, governments could coordinate much more effectively. These irregularities in stimulus, could, in the worst case scenario, be detrimental to world economic recovery. The G20 was created in the wake of the Asian economic crisis of 1997 to deal with global economic problems. At the 2008 Washington Summit, the G20 understood the cause of the world financial crisis and agreed on an action plan for combating it. This tradition that will continue at the Toronto summit.
The G20 will push for the lowering of tariffs and economic liberalization. This will lower the costs of imports and will act as a counter-weight to the stimulus plans. Without the lowering of tariffs, nations would inevitably move towards protectionism, one of the factors which lead to the Great Depression of the 1930s and a situation we are dangerously close to in these turbulent times.
The G20 also has promising opportunities for young people. In conjunction with the official meetings there is a “Young Entrepreneurs Summit” which brings aspiring business leaders from the ages of 18-40 from across the G20 countries. This summit creates opportunities for delegates to make contacts and expand their fledging companies. It will also encourage new businesses and will lead to job creation and fuel the revival of the world economies. This is an invaluable opportunity for these entrepreneurs, who are the force that keeps capitalism strong as without new businesses competition would stagnate.
As students, we will want to know how the G20 summit will benefit us on a personal level. For a start, the summit will add luster to our long-standing political reputation, as images of the U of T campus will be broadcast all over the world. In addition, it promotes awareness and interest in world economic issues and the recovery plan. These are important matters which must be addressed despite being markedly less prominent than Darfur or cancer. In short, the G20 will benefit Toronto, Canada, and the world.—Patrick Langille
Counter-point: The G20 Summit is a waste of time, money, and resources
As you may be aware, Toronto is holding the G20 summit on the weekend of June 26 – 27. The meeting is a gathering of world leaders and finance ministers from the largest 19 national economies (the 20th member is the European Union) in the world. In fact, the 19 member countries represent, according to the official G20 website, 85% of the world’s gross national product, 80% of the world’s trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population. The productivity of the member nations is promising, but in the ten years since its conception the organization has barely accomplished anything at all.
Despite efforts to freeze funds for terrorist organizations and to implement a system for combating abuses against member countries’ financial systems, the organization somehow missed out on avoiding the economic meltdown that has been affecting the world for the past three years. This is where the lack of progress begins.
The G20 does not represent or include developing nations when deciding on policies or directives. It is, in essence, dictating its terms to the developing world while allowing it little input. The only real voice developing nations have in the G20 meetings is through representatives from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN) and the Financial Stability Forum – all organizations basically run by G20 member nations to begin with.
The most significant flaw is that the host nation sets the agenda. This allows the domestic politics of the host country to stifle worldwide progress on international issues. With the summit being hosted in Canada, this means that Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has already received criticism for promoting right-wing politics, sets the agenda. For example, Harper’s government is refusing to fund safe access to abortion for women in countries such as Rwanda or Burkina Faso. Also, despite calls by almost all member nations to impose a world bank tax, Harper refuses to add it to the agenda, all the while sending teams of cabinet ministers across the developed world to fight the policy and keep it off the agenda.
Another flaw is the way in which delegates congregate for the meeting. Simply put, they become a target for protesters, both violent and non-violent, and potentially for terrorists. As a result, the host city becomes virtually a city of martial law.
The G20 meeting this year has already had a tremendous effect on the citizens of Toronto, specifically in the downtown core. University of Toronto students are being inconvenienced with the full closure of the St. George Campus for the entire week that the meetings are taking place, forcing students living in Innis, New, University, Trinity, and Woodsworth College residences to move to alternate locations.
Further, Toronto’s Gay Pride Week has been postponed until after the meeting, and even the Toronto Blue Jay’s weekend series with Philadelphia at the Rogers Centre has been moved to Philadelphia.
Another point of contention to the G20 meetings is its price tag to Canadian taxpayers. Presently, the estimated total cost sits at $1.1 billion. This figure is more expensive than the past nine G20 meetings put together. Opposition parties and the Canadian media have already dubbed this as a “billion dollar boondoggle.” The billion dollar price tag seems incomprehensible in the face of the current federal deficit. This money could have been better spent on health care initiatives or other social programs, all of which have had their funding slashed under the Harper regime.
The G20 summit is a waste of time, money, and resources and is only a burden to the cities that host it.—Jon Foster
