On my first morning in Seattle, I sat on a People’s Tribunal that heard testimony from experts, environmental leaders and citizen activists about the human face of trade.

Along with US Representatives George Miller and Maxine Waters and the Belgian Minister of Consumer Protection, I heard about some Caribbean banana growers who, thanks to a WTO decision, have little choice but to start growing dope to survive. Environmental experts from Southeast Asia told us about the now infamous WTO ruling against US import restrictions on shrimp harvested in ways that needlessly threaten Sea Turtle populations.

And as a Canadian parliamentarian, it was embarassing to hear testimony about how the Canadian government is trying to impose asbestos on the French through a WTO challenge of France’s national ban on asbestos. This is just another sad example of how public health laws are being attacked as trade barriers through the WTO.

With nearly one thousand concerned citizens of the world cramped into Seattle’s First Methodist Church, the People’s Tribunal offered a refreshing contrast to the official WTO meetings taking place behind closed doors just a few blocks away at the Seattle Convention Centre.

Bill Blaikie, MP