Postmedia News reports, “The ninth and potentially final round of negotiations begins Monday in Ottawa on a controversial Canada-European Union free-trade deal that could profoundly impact Canadian jobs and consumers. Opponents of the deal are planning a week of events and protests in Ottawa — including stationing a giant wooden Trojan horse on Parliament Hill — to highlight what they say are hidden implications of the agreement and the need for the government to proceed more cautiously.”
The Council of Canadians/ Trade Justice Network – “A number of citizen groups are voicing concerns with the Canada-EU trade talks. Spearheaded by the Council of Canadians and an umbrella organization called the Trade Justice Network, the groups plan to hold a ‘CETA week of action’ to protest the closed-door negotiations being held in Ottawa. Organizers will deliver a 14-foot-tall wooden Trojan horse to Parliament Hill on Monday to symbolize what they believe are hidden implications with the trade agreement, and will hold a handful of public forums with MPs and union officials during the week. The groups say they’re not anti-trade but are concerned Canada is handing over too much economic control to the Europeans. ‘There’s a lot of skepticism about this trade deal and flat-out opposition,’ said Stuart Trew, a trade campaigner with the Council of Canadians. ‘This is really a deal designed to encourage a type of economy in Canada that is much more privatized and in some cases maybe more deregulated.'”
Former trade negotiator Peter Clark – “Seasoned trade officials believe Canada will pay a hefty price for CETA, but say the country has little choice but to sign it because of the need to expand markets beyond the United States and get preferential access to the EU before the Americans. ‘I don’t see any way that Canada will get a bargain on a deal with Europe. We’ll pay for it — we’ll pay for it dearly,’ argued Peter Clark, a former Canadian trade negotiator who’s now president of an Ottawa-based trade consultancy. ‘We want it more than they do,’ he added. ‘But in the long run it’s probably worthwhile because it will cost us more not to have it.’ …Clark, the former federal trade official, said it’s going to be much more difficult for small and medium-sized Canadian companies to access the European market than it will be for large multinational corporations that already have extensive links overseas. Canadian agricultural producers are also at a competitive disadvantage on some fronts compared to their European counterparts who are highly subsidized by eurozone countries — incentives that won’t disappear under the trade deal, he said.”
Canada Europe Roundtable for Business – “Jason Langrish, executive director of the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business, said the biggest benefit for Canada is trade diversification and no longer having to rely on the U.S. market that’s experiencing a painful economic recovery. …He acknowledged the deal could eliminate some Canadian jobs, but believes it will generate far more higher-quality and better-paying positions in the long run.”
Federation of Canadian Municipalities – “The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is optimistic the trade agreement will create additional jobs by providing companies with a larger export market, and could produce cheaper construction costs on major municipal projects. However, the organization has submitted a list of seven principles it wants the federal government to follow, including a threshold level that would exempt some smaller municipal capital projects from the agreement.”
The NDP – “The federal NDP has said it strongly supports diversifying Canada’s export markets and decreasing the country’s reliance on the U.S. However, NDP trade critic Robert Chisholm noted he’s concerned about a number of areas that would be affected by CETA, including supply management of domestic companies, intellectual property and health-care costs for Canadians. A study commissioned by the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association found that CETA provisions could delay, by years, provincial access to some generic drugs and cost provinces up to $2.8 billion more annually, as patented drugs could be provided exclusivity periods. ‘We need to make sure that we’re getting a good deal, that we’re doing it with our eyes open and that we’re not letting the Europeans take us out to the back of the woodshed,’ Chisholm said.”
For more on the week of action against CETA, please see Council of Canadians trade campaigner Stuart Trew’s blog at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11181, as well as http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11117.
