Chapter activists Rick Arnold and Bev Burke
The Council of Canadians Northumberland chapter will be at the ‘Trinational Meeting of Social Movements from Canada, Mexico and the United States on NAFTA’ this coming May 26-27 in Mexico City.
Chapter activists Rick Arnold and Bev Burke will be at this ‘encuentro’ in advance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks that are expected to begin this August and conclude by April 2018 just prior to the July 1 general election in Mexico.
The promotion for the gathering highlights, “We call on social movements, trade unions, farmers, indigenous nations, migrants, environmentalists, human rights groups and all other interested sectors/organizations from Mexico, United States and Canada to come together to strengthen trinational work in the face of the ‘re-negotiation’ of NAFTA, an agreement that has been negative for the peoples of the three countries. …This gathering gives us all an opportunity to strategize around actions needed to build collective power based on the principles of solidarity and internationalism while sharing alternatives to the dominant neo-liberal agenda.”
Mexican organizations, working together under the umbrella of ‘Mexico Better Off Without FTAs’, are convening this gathering. Organizations in Canada and Quebec involved in this include Common Frontiers, the Trade Justice Network, RQIC, ATTAC-Québec, along with the Quebec-based unions CSD, CSN, FTQ and SPGQ.
Arnold will be interviewed on CFWN 89.7 FM on May 19 and again after the trinational meeting.
Montreal-based Council of Canadians trade campaigner Sujata Dey will also be at this gathering. In the coming weeks, Dey will be releasing fact sheets and handimation videos on NAFTA, as well as launching a lobbying campaign on June 26 directed at Members of Parliament.
