The Glenview Declaration and Proposals

to the G7 Economic Summit, Halifax, June 1995

  • The Glenview Campaign
  • The Glenview Declaration
  • The Glenview Proposal
    NOTE: The Glenview Declaration and Proposals were developed by a group of Canadian citizens meeting in a private home and a local church on Glenview Avenue, sharing common concerns about the state and future of the world. The street name was retained to highlight the importance of local voices everywhere. Our intent is to call for new values, new senses of responsibilities, and to share in and support inspired local, national and international leadership.

    The Glenview Campaign

    c/o John Maskell, 39 Laurel St, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2J 2H3
    The Wellness Foundation, co sponsor, E-Mail wfdn@globalx.net

    Dear Friends,

    We invite you to join our campaign to speak with one voice to the elected heads of Governments of Canada, the USA, UK, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy, beginning with the G7 Economic Summit to be held in Halifax, 15-17 June, 1995.

    Included with this letter of invitation is a copy of the Glenview Declaration and Proposal.

    The Glenview Proposals were formally submitted on May 30th 1995 to the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada - who is the Chairperson of the Economic Summit.

    With it, was a letter indicating that widespread national and international support is being solicited. The results and extent of this support will be reported in a public forum to the media in Halifax at the time of the Summit, and, for as long as additional support flows in, we will continue forward information and suggestions to the G7 Leaders and to authorities generally. This submission is the beginning of an ongoing campaign.

    We invite to you join by:

    We look forward to your support and participation.

    Sincerely,

    Signed

    John Maskell
    Convenor, The Glenview Campaign.

    Jeremy Wright
    Cosponsor
    The Wellness Foundation

    The Glenview Declaration

    We speak out of concern for our children's futures, for the Earth's beauty, and for the destiny of humanity. We invite you to join us.

    We claim the Global Commons as the heritage of all humanity;

    We claim responsible stewardship of our biosphere, atmosphere, ozone layer, water, soils, forests, oceans, and of the global information highway, as necessary for human survival;

    We claim responsible social and economic investment in our communities, in our children, and in our common future as preferable to speculation;

    We claim personal and political sovereignty as preferable to the servitude of personal and political indebtedness in any form;

    We claim new economic, ecological and social policies - predicated on ethical value systems, new forms of cooperation, and less violent methods of conflict resolution - as essential for reducing disparities between peoples everywhere, and for bringing about a more caring and sustainable world;

    We call for a new emphasis and understanding of the ideal that enrichment is achieved as much by giving as by receiving, and that these are complementary;

    We further call for a new Covenant of responsibility to be created among people everywhere, and between people, their institutions and their leadership.

    We invite people of like mind and heart in every part of the world to join us in making a difference to the future of their families, to the betterment of their neighbourhoods, their communities, their nations and to the renewal of their world and support this proposal to The G7 Economic Summit in Halifax.

    Support By Email to
    wfdn@globalx.net
    maskellj@web.apc.org

    Support and Donations - By Mail
    John Maskell - in Trust, 39 Laurel St.
    Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2J 2H3

    The Glenview Proposals

    for the G7 Economic Summit, Halifax, June 1995
    Submitted to The Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, G7 Economic Summit Chairperson; May 30, 1995.

    The Glenview Proposals

    We, the undersigned group of Canadian citizens, wish to express concern that:

    We believe that:

    We note the historic convergence of two international political debates in Halifax:

    We therefore propose that the leadership of the Halifax G7 Economic Summit:

    I. Proclaim the Global Commons

    Given that 'over-arching' jurisdiction over the Global Commons is beyond the sovereignty of any one nation, the leadership of the G7 nations at this Summit is requested to:

    II. Restore Monetary Stability and Personal and Political Sovereignty

    New ways to restore personal and political sovereignty over the servitude of debt must be found. This must include curbing international speculation, money laundering and the use of tax havens. It would enable global resources to be redirected to the emerging priorities, life-long learning, personal growth, local social and ecological investments, the protection of bioregions, the promotion of healthy cities and sustainability of rural areas. It would initiate the process of the restoration of personal and political sovereignty.

    We therefore recommend that the G7 leadership support and participate in a detailed review to curtail international tax avoidance and speculative strategies. This review should examine ways for the monetary and political authorities of effectively curtailing international currency speculation including:

    III. Accelerate Economic Conversion

    With the end of the cold war, the opportunity exists to redirect resources toward more peaceful methods of dispute resolution. Economic conversion to these ends is both necessary and possible. The reorientation of scarce resources toward environmental regeneration, social development, education and health can become the new socioeconomic engines of all societies.

    We recommend that the G7 show leadership to all nations by championing such domestic and international conversions. Such conversions must be designed to reduce the causes and capacity for armed conflict, and establish a surer basis for democracy, economic sufficiency, literacy, equality, health, and social integration.

    IV. Facilitate Debt Writeoffs

    On top of traditional foreign exchange difficulties and chronic problems of debt servicing, many countries face desperate problems of climate uncertainty, chronic drought, the removal of their forest cover, and new threats of disease and famine. These are no longer solely local problems. They are matters of global concern, posing threats beyond national boundaries.

    We recommend that the leadership of the G7 Nations initiate a new program of debt writeoffs for such countries, particularly with multi-lateral lending institutions, and simultaneously examine new ways of providing international assistance for the purposes of soil conservation and restoration of local ecologies. We further recommend that a portion of such assistance no longer be tied to interests of the donor countries, but be made available to local areas to generate new local solutions in locally creative ways.

    V. Fulfil Recent International Commitments

    Social, ecological and economic issues are now converging. Commitments made in international agreements are only achieved when they are fully acted on by the responsible international, national and local authorities. The leadership of the G7 nations is respectfully requested to ensure that new commitments to all agreements in recent international meetings, including The Children's Summit, New York ('90); The Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro ('92); The UN Human Rights Conference, Vienna ('93); The UN Population Conference, Cairo ('94); and The World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen ('95) are translated into action.

    Opportunities

    The adoption of the above proposals by the G7 leadership at this Summit will help us all to:

    Signed

    Marilyn Ashby, Glenview co-Convenor; Coordinator Campaign for the Earth, Canada; Representative to WSSD; Member Junior League of Toronto; Past Chair Markham Social Planning Council; former National Board Member Canadian Home and School Association.

    John Benesh, International Business Consultant, Lawyer, Educator, Associate member of the Niagara Institute, Former Executive Director of the Canadian Bar Association, active in many volunteer capacities.

    Sam Bowman, Representative for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture to WSSD; Proponent for the Rights of the Child; 40 year Veteran of social, cultural and economic development initiatives.

    Tim Johnson, Professional Agrologist, Financial Planner; Member Social Investment Organisation.

    John Maskell, Glenview Convenor; entrepreneur, professional economic developer; part time graduate student; Representative to WSSD for Faculty of Environmental Studies, U of Waterloo; Elder, Mennonite Church.

    Ron McDonald, Executive Director 'Self-Help Development' Zambia, 30 years experience in local development in a wide variety of executive, managerial advisory and practical roles.

    The Reverend David Pfrimmer, Director Lutheran Office for Public Policy

    Sahira Piracha, representative to WSSD; Prep Com III for Coalition of the Rights of Children; Youth Ambassador to the World Summit for Children; former Director of Canada 125 Corporation.

    Thomas Ponniah, Professor, Community Workers Programme, George Brown College.

    Malcolm Shookner, Ontario Social Development Council, NGO Delegate to WSSD.

    Robert Simpson, Businessman, Member Software Publishers Association.

    Naresh Singh, Program Director for Poverty, Empowerment and United Nations Activities, International Institute for Sustainable Development; Adjunct Professor, University of Manitoba; Fellow, Lester Pearson Institute, Dalhousie U; former Executive Director Caribbean Environmental Health Institute.

    Laila Smith, Youth Coordinator of Canadian NGO Delegation to WSSD; Liaison officer, Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

    Muriel Smith, NGO delegate to WSSD; Vice President, United Nations Association, Canada.

    Jerzey A. Wojciechowski, Professor Emeritus, Philosophy, Ottawa U; Past President and First Honorary Member Canadian Philosophical Association; member, Canadian Association of The Club of Rome; Originator of the Theory of The Ecology of Knowledge.

    Jeremy Wright, President, The Wellness Foundation, former senior economist Social Policy, Privy Council Office, and recent senior advisor to the Canadian Federation of Labour on Canada/ US Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA.


    For further information, please contact:
    
    John Maskell, Convenor,                Jeremy Wright, co-sponsor
    The Glenview Campaign,                 The Wellness Foundation
    39 Laurel St., Waterloo,               181 Maple Lane, Ottawa
    Ontario, Canada, N2J 2H3               Ontario, Canada, K1M 1G6
    Email : maskellj@web.apc.org           Email: wfdn@globalx.net
    
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    Posted by Information Habitat: Where Information Lives - 15 June, 1995