The Guardian reports that, “The Council of Canadians is raising questions about the Buy American trade deal announced by the Stephen Harper government.”
Leo Broderick of Charlottetown, vice-chair of the Council of Canadians, says, “Canada is giving away far more than it can receive in this deal. And to make matters much worse, the provinces have been included in the World Trade Organization’s government procurement agreement. It’s a disaster for local governments and an attack on democracy. This means here on Prince Edward Island, the P.E.I. government has given up its right to give preferential treatment to contracting policies that favour local businesses. It has also given up the right to give preference to Canadian suppliers, buy-local food policies and centralized purchasing of school materials and pharmaceuticals for example. At the same time the Buy American policies in the U.S.A. remain intact. The local Council of Canadians is asking why Premier Robert Ghiz agreed to this deal. And what did the Harper give P.E.I. in return?”
The full article can be read at http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=328461&sc=98.
