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TradeCanada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
Tell your MP 'vote no to the Canada-Colombia FTA' » Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement
Steven Shrybman speaks to Trade Committee on NAFTA
The audio from this morning’s proceedings is available here ». Read the official transcript here ». INTERPROVINCIAL INVESTOR RIGHTS ARE AN IMPRACTICAL JOKE: New report reveals undemocratic trade plan for Canada, exposes threats to public services
State of Play: Canada’s Internal Free Trade Agenda (PDF 139kb) Portrait de la situation : Le plan de travail du Canada en matière de libre- March 31, 2009, just one day before the BC/Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) goes into full effect, the Council of Canadians launched a new report by expert trade lawyer Steven Shrybman concluding that TILMA, other similar agreements currently in development, and the recent changes to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) will only further deregulate provincial policies that protect communities and the environment and threaten public services. The report, titled 'State of Play: Canada’s Internal Free Trade Agenda’ provides an update on TILMA and the state of various trade agreements between Ontario and Quebec (OQEPA), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (PARE) and Saskatchewan (so-called Economic Partnership with BC and Alberta) and challenges the need for these agreements in the first place. It was simultaneously released by the Council of Canadians on March 31 at press conferences in Halifax, Moncton, Ottawa, Toronto, Regina, Calgary and Vancouver. Read the report here Majority of Canadians want Canada-EU trade deal text released nowThe Council of Canadians has found that 77% of Canadians want the draft text of a sweeping new Canada-European Union trade deal made public before the October 14 federal election vote, in a poll conducted by Strategic Communications. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has reportedly decided not to release the draft text and internal study of the trade deal that is said to exceed NAFTA in scope, despite talks on the deal that will take place in Montreal just three days after the election. The poll also shows that 67% of Conservative voters believe that the draft text should be released right away. More »
Governments and big business have spent the last 15 years telling us that free trade is good for us. But Canadians know better.
What’s been a bonanza for big corporations and private investors has been bad news for the rest of us — and for the public good. Our resources and the environment are under threat. Our public services such as health care are being cut and privatized. Our jobs and the promise of a living wage are being steadily eroded. The World Trade Organization (WTO), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) all have influence on our economy, our society, our lives. Free trade agreements, negotiated in secret, represent a charter of rights for large corporations and they clearly undermine the ability of countries and citizens to govern themselves. On the global stage, the Canadian government has become an important ally to the United States in pushing the flawed free trade model on unwilling countries around the world. But we believe that a better Canada, and a better world, is possible.
Action Alerts
In this section, you’ll find out how to promote fair trade in Canada, on the world stage, and in your community. Or contact us at inquiries@canadians.org or |
FEATURES ACTION ALERT: Hold Senate accountable for hasty passage of Canada-Peru free trade agreement [24-June-2009] UN, not G8, should lead global economic talks, says Council of Canadians Refusing to Adapt: Civil society statement on the the International Economic Forum of the Americas, a gathering of the world's financial and political elite which met in Montreal June 10 to 12, 2009 to discuss how countries can adapt to the new world order. VIDEO: CPAC's Prime Time Politics covers Maude Barlow speaking in Ottawa to outline hopes for this week's visit to Canada by U.S. President Barack Obama, February 17, 2009 (Starting at approx. 21:30 minutes) How worried are you about U.S. protectionism?, Steven Shrybman on Goldhawk Live, February 8, 2009 Will the US Blockade Newfoundland?, Steven Shrybman, The St. John's Telegram , January 24, 2009 ACTION ALERT: Yes, let's renegotiate or abrogate NAFTA! Obama Reaffirms Promise to Renegotiate NAFTA, Huffington Post, January 12, 2009 Obama and NAFTA, Foreign Policy In Focus, January 9, 2009 Why We Need to Fix NAFTA, Maude Barlow and John Cavanagh, January 1, 2009 Attempt to Convene Another Last-Minute WTO "mini-Ministerial" Collapses In the Midst of Global Recession - Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Dec 12, 2008 G-20 Summit Call to Finish WTO Doha: Ignorance or Cynicism? - Public Citizen, Nov 15, 2008 Inside the WTO's Collapsed Deal - The Tyee, Aug 4, 2008 Canada Needs to Abandon Failed Model of World Trade Talks, says Maude Barlow - July 30, 2008 Canadians Reject McCain’s NAFTA Plea - Continental Movement for Renegotiation Grows - June 20, 2008, Ottawa Stop the Bush-McCain Agenda, Stop Unfair Trade - June 20, 2008, Ottawa VIDEO: The Council fights TILMA in Alberta Building a Diversified, Value-Added, Productive Economy (PDF) CAW Submission to the Government of Canada’s Competition Policy Review Panel, 2008 Democracy vs. Free Trade: Renegotiate NAFTA? Sounds like a good idea. Maude Barlow, March 5, 2008 NAFTA's legacy: the worst agreement we ever signed, Murray Dobbin, The Globe and Mail, March 5, 2008 Provincial trade barriers? What provincial trade barriers? Globe and Mail, Murray Dobbin, January 11, 2008 Victory! Well, sort of... Council welcomes NAFTA victory while decrying NAFTA rules, Canadian Perspectives, Autumn 2007 Suing over NAFTA (VIDEO) New Chapter 11 affidavit by Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. Court upholds corporate rights under NAFTA - Read the November 30, 2006 decision and analysis. Revisiting NAFTA: Still not working for North America's workers
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On March 26, 2009, the Harper government introduced legislation (Bill C23) in the House of Commons to implement a Canada-Colombia free trade agreement. This was done despite widespread opposition from labour and human rights groups, as well as the opposition NDP and Bloc Quebecois. They argue against the agreement on the grounds that Colombia has the worst human rights record in the Western Hemisphere. They say the free trade agreement as written can do nothing to change this problem, and might even exacerbate it. 
The Standing Committee on International Trade met this morning to review Chapter 11, the investor-state clause of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Board member Steven Shrybman was there on Parliament Hill to present on behalf of the Council of Canadians.
Read the full poll results (PDF) »
