In his address to the Canada Conference ’99 in St. John’s this week CLC President Bob White reminded the mostly business and academic audience that economic globalization has brought misery to many workers and chaos to many economies. Only a few corporations and executives have prospered.

In the face of an increasingly unstable global economy, White noted that we must not forget the lesson of the 1930s.

"We have to build a social framework for the economy," said White, "that’s the only way to ensure that wealth and benefits of economic development are widely shared." White called for controls on international speculation and national capital controls, as well as for governments to closely monitor and regulate the activities of the banks.

"We need to lift the crushing burden of debt from the developing countries," added White, "and provide meaningful long-term aid and assistance. We also need to fundamentally reform key global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organizations."

Changes to international rules and institutions, added White, along with national policies which promote growth by maintaining low interest rates and reducing unemployment would help re-distribute the wealth.

"The global trading system has to respect basic human rights," emphasized White, adding that all trade agreements must require countries to respect basic workers’ rights.