Canadian Bishops Blast Multinationals

A group of Canadian Catholic bishops have issued a paper denouncing the "moral disorder" and "survival of the fittest" mentality of multinational corporations and banks. Their indictment of capitalism has created a furor in Canada, sparking front page news across the country.

The paper, entitled "Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis," was prepared by the social affairs commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The commission described the high unemployment rate in Canada as "a serious moral as well as economic crisis" and called the current recession a symptom "of a much larger structural crisis in the international system of capitalism."

Chambers of Commerce, bankers and conservative theologians blasted the report. The Canadian Organization of Small Business labeled the document "simple-minded pap." The archbishop of Toronto, Emmett Cardinal Carter, called a special press conference to deny that the document reflected the policy of Canadian Bishops.

But the statement was strongly endorsed by the Canadian Labor Congress, the United Church of Canada, the New Democratic Party and a wide range of community groups.

The bishops' statement criticized the global capitalist economy for "placing greater importance on the accumulation of profits and machines than on the people who work in a given economy." Under the present system, the bishops argued, the "value, meaning and dignity of human labor is violated."

Multinational corporations and banks have been singled out as major contributors to the "moral disorder" of the world economy. These institutions "can move capital from one country to another in order to take advantage of cheaper labor conditions, lower taxes, and reduced environmental restrictions," the bishops said. The statement strongly denounced incentives that create "more favorable climates for private investment" such as wage restraints and restrictions on social services, and "the use of regressive measures for restraining civil liberties and controlling social unrest. "

The existing economic development model, the statement said does not serve the "basic needs of people in this country." Such needs would be served, the bishops concluded, by an alternative model of labor-intensive industries, appropriate technology, community and worker ownership, and renewable energy resources.

A "new vision of society," the bishops argued, is necessary to recognize that "the needs of the poor have priority over the wants of the rich; that the rights of workers are more important than the maximization of profits."

This report was written by Walter Davis, an unemployed development educator and freelance journalist based in Saskatchewan.