Stakeholder Forum meets G20 Sherpa

Felix Dodds from Stakeholder Forum was one of the delegates from 17 countries who met in Ottawa on the 11th of June with Len Edwards, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s representative at the Group of 20, and Graham Flack, a senior international official at the Finance Department.

Peter Harder, a former Canadian sherpa, chaired the meeting, which was the first official contact between the G20 and its non-governmental critics.

This was a significant development. The civil society groups were brought together by FIM-Forum for Democratic Global Governance, formerly known as the Forum international de Montreal. Rajesh Tandon, the chairman of FIM-Forum, said their meeting with the Canadian officials revolved around these themes: individuals’ anger that billions in public money was used to rescue the same institutions that caused the crisis; concern that the banking system is receiving more attention than issues such as unemployment and food security; and accountability.