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House of Commons Standing Committee seeks input on NAFTA renegotiation by September 15

Tracey Ramsey, MP.


The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade is soliciting input on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).


The Committee has agreed, “That the Committee undertake a study of the priorities of Canadian stakeholders having an interest in bilateral and trilateral trade in North America, between Canada, United States and Mexico; that all members of the Committee travel to the United States and Mexico; that the Committee invite Canadian stakeholders to appear, including representatives of businesses, trade associations, civil society and organized labour; that the study consist of at least four meetings, and that the Committee report its findings to the House.”


NDP Member of Parliament Tracey Ramsey is a member of that Committee.


On May 29, she wrote, “The House Trade Committee is studying Canadian trade priorities with the US and Mexico. While only a handful of meetings are planned, I encourage interested stakeholders to submit your views to the Committee via email before September 15, 2017 to ciit@parl.gc.ca (see also Guide for Submitting Briefs). Again, you are also invited to share your submissions with me at tracey.ramsey@parl.gc.ca.”


For information on a Global Affairs Canada consultation process – which has set a July 18 deadline for public input – please see this campaign blog.


The Council of Canadians has argued that the government should make clear what it is seeking in the NAFTA talks (we have put forward this list of demands) and articulate its red lines (what it will not concede). We also argue that the Trudeau government should make a public statement that it is prepared to walk away from NAFTA should Trump’s demands make the terms of an agreement untenable.


And we have highlighted that – well beyond online consultations and a handful of meetings – there should be meaningful public hearings as well as separate consultations with First Nations, given their rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are impacted by NAFTA.


Beyond this, our three core demands of the Trudeau government are:

1. Protect water by explicitly removing it as a tradable good, service or investment. We cannot leave our water vulnerable to bulk exports or privatization.

2. Eliminate Chapter 11 investment provisions that allow corporations to sue governments over public interest laws or policies that hurt future corporate profits.

3. Free Canada from the energy proportionality clause that locks us into supplying the U.S. with oil quotas that are destroying our environment and restricting real action on climate change.


These demands have been highlighted in 12,013 letters (so far) to the Prime Minister through this online action alert.

Please add your voice to these demands today.

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