Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow will be participating in an upcoming Canadian Labour Congress tour alongside CLC president Hassan Yussuff in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The tour dates are:
November 2 – Windsor
November 8 – Toronto
November 10 – Halifax
November 22 – Vancouver
November 23 – Winnipeg
The Trans-Pacific Partnership includes G7 ‘major advanced economies’ (the United States, Canada and Japan), G20 ‘major economies’ (Australia and Mexico), relatively smaller economies (New Zealand and Singapore) and ‘developing economies’ (Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam).
The Canadian Labour Congress’ promotion for the tour highlights, “The TPP threatens tens-of-thousands of Canadian jobs, will lead to higher prescription drug costs, and threatens our health care system. Learn what the TPP will mean for Canada, your community, and how to stop it.”
JOB LOSS
Tufts University says, “TPP would lead to employment losses in all countries, with a total of 771,000 lost jobs. The United States would be the hardest hit, with a loss of 448,000 jobs. Developing economies participating in the agreement would also suffer employment losses, as higher competitive pressures force them to curtail labor incomes and increase production for export.”
HIGHER DRUG COSTS
It also includes a provision that extends patents for pharmaceutical corporations. In her comments on the TPP, Margaret Chan, the director-general of the World Health Organization, has stated, “If these agreements open trade yet close the door to affordable medicines we have to ask the question: is this really progress at all.”
CORPORATE RIGHTS
And it contains the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says, “It used to be the basic principle was polluter pay. If you damaged the environment, then you have to pay. Now if you pass a regulation that restricts ability to pollute or does something about climate change, you could be sued and could pay billions of dollars.”
While many have clearly voiced their opposition to the TPP at hearings, consultations and protests, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has commented, “In our conversations with Canadians, with industries which are ongoing, there are a lot of people in favour of it and there are a few who have real concerns and we’re looking at understanding and allaying certain fears and building on some of the opportunities.”
Just last week, Trudeau stated, “It’s difficult to imagine a world where Canada would turn its back on [the TPP and] three of its top five trading partners. We established very clearly during the campaign that we’re a pro-trade party.”
The signatory countries have set February 2018 as the deadline to ratify the TPP.
For numerous Council of Canadians campaign blogs in opposition to the TPP, please click here.
