The National Film Board documentary ‘Democracy à la Maude’ is now available online, free and complete.
The description for the 1998 film reads, “Maude Barlow is a crusading warrior for social justice and the leader of Canada’s largest citizens’ rights group, the Council of Canadians. This feature film portrays Barlow’s progress from young Ottawa housewife, quietly reading Germaine Greer alone at home, to outspoken activist, locking horns with such formidable opponents as media magnate Conrad Black and Thomas D’Aquino of the Business Council on National Issues. On the front lines in the battle against the Free Trade Agreement and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, Barlow cautions against “the rise of corporate rule”, arguing that such agreements enhance the international mobility of corporations at the expense of Canadian social programs and jobs.”
And as Bullfrog Films notes, “Articulate, unassuming, and cool under fire, Maude Barlow has inspired thousands in her own country and around the world. Her agenda? ‘Fair trade, full employment, cooperation, cultural diversity, democratic control, fair taxation, environmental stewardship, community, public accountability, equality, social justice: these are the touchstones of our vision and it is within our means–it is our right–to choose them.'”
While the film is about 16 years old now, it’s still captivating and inspiring and offers an important glimpse of the fightback that took place at that time against corporate economic rights, free trade and media concentration.
Watch the entire 61-minute documentary above or on the National Film Board of Canada’s website.
