The Council of Canadians Hamilton chapter has received a reply from Paul Magnette, the minister-president of the French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia.
Chapter activist Kathie Clark wrote Magnette on April 7 to express her support for his warning that Wallonia may not ratify the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Magnette replied to her on April 12.
The Globe and Mail has reported, “The trade deal between Canada and the European Union is facing a new challenge from the Belgium region of Wallonia which is threatening to block final ratification of the agreement. Wallonia First Minister Paul Magnette said in an interview that his government will not support the CETA trade deal when it comes up for ratification unless changes are made to how disputes are resolved. Mr. Magnette also said his government is challenging the legality of the dispute resolution mechanism in the European Court of Justice, which could take at least two years to rule.”
In his email to Clark, Magnette says, “Wallonia has declared that if this future mechanism does not match its ambitions, its Parliament will reject the CETA ratification.”
In order for CETA to be fully implemented, it needs to be ratified by 38 national and regional parliaments in Europe, including the Parliament of Wallonia.
To send a message to Magnette and the people of Wallonia to encourage their rejection of CETA, you can write:
Paul Magnette, Ministre-Président
Gouvernement wallon
Rue Mazy, 25-27
5100 Namur
BELGIUM
Email: Paul.Magnette@gov.wallonie.be
Fax: 011-32-81-331-366 (leave out the dashes when dialing)
In recent weeks, the Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, South Niagara and Quill Plains (Wynyard) chapters have written Magnette.
#StopCETA
