José Bové – farmer, anti-globalization activist, and Member of European Parliament – has been denied entry to Canada. Bové was scheduled to speak in St. John’s at Groundswell 2016 on Friday, following a public forum against CETA (the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) in Montreal last night. The Council of Canadians is asking whether there was political interference with his visit and why is being denied entry.
“This is outrageous,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “José Bové is part of the groundswell of opposition to CETA and just as he is about to speak against the deal in Canada he is sent back to France, while the French Prime Minister is here this week to promote the deal. Is the case for CETA on such thin ice that it can’t withstand free speech?”
The Groundswell 2016 conference, which takes place in St. John’s from October 14-16, will highlight the power of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada to stand up to corporations and governments, and to protect our communities and economies for people and the planet.
Bové would have spoken alongside Maude Barlow, Avi Lewis, Elizabeth Penashue, and Greg Malone at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 14, Sheraton Hotel (in the Dieppe Room), St. John’s NL, at Groundswell 2016: Toward a Healthy Economy for People and the Planet.
[Editor’s note: more details on this story can be found here]