TORONTO, April 23, 2001 -- Fresh from the People’s Summit in Quebec, John Maxwell, a prominent Jamaican journalist, will deliver a talk entitled "Lies! Damn Lies! Jamaica, the FTAA and the Environment" at York University on Tuesday, April 24, 4:30 - 6 p.m.

Maxwell will offer his perspective of the Quebec Summit and discuss the potential social, political, cultural and environmental effects of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on Jamaica and the Caribbean. He will also discuss alternatives to the global agenda, and will provide an overview of what individuals from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations are doing to confront the challenges posed by globalization in their region.

Maxwell was invited to Quebec by the organizing committee of the People's Summit to participate in several forums and activities. He is best known as the host of Jamaica's provocative radio talk show "The Public Eye" and as a hard-hitting columnist in the Sunday edition of the Jamaica Observer.

In his April 8 column he wrote, "Unfortunately for us, no one outside a charmed circle has any real idea of what the Free Trade Area of the Americas – FTAA – will mean, and our businessmen, politicians and journalists don’t seem to care. What is clear is that we are being led blindly into a trap which may have even more dire consequences than slavery and colonialism combined."

Maxwell's talk is sponsored by York University’s Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean with the support of individuals in the Jamaican community as well as by other groups interested in hearing the position of small nation states in regard to the FTAA.

Maxwell’s talk will take place in Founders College, Senior Commons Room (3rd Floor) York University, 4700 Keele Street.

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For more information, please visit: http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac, or call:

Marshall Beck
CERLAC
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 88705
mbeck@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/053/01