The last photo was taken just moments after President Obama’s motorcade passed by Bronson and Colonel By in Ottawa.
The Council of Canadians held up a ‘Stop the TPP’ banner for US President Barack Obama to see as his motorcade made its way past the intersection at Bronson Avenue and Colonel By Drive around 10:40 am this morning.
President Obama could be seen looking our way and at the banner from behind his limousine’s backseat window.
With his presidency ending in about six months time, Obama s facing mounting opposition to the deal in the United States. In order for the agreement to be implemented, the United States must ratify the deal by November 2017.
But The Washington Post has reported that only 26 per cent of Americans support the deal. More significantly, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump both oppose the TPP. Given public opinion, opposition in the US Congress, and both presidential nominees (one of whom will assume office on January 20, 2017) criticizing the deal, the American ratification of the deal is far from certain.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that today’s ‘Three Amigos’ summit will showcase the value of ‘free trade’.
Trudeau is playing host today to Obama and Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto for the one-day continental summit in Ottawa.
Both Obama and Peña Nieto support the TPP, while Trudeau stated during his recent visit to Washington, DC, “In our conversations with Canadians, with industries which are ongoing, there are a lot of people in favour of it and there are a few who have real concerns and we’re looking at understanding and allaying certain fears and building on some of the opportunities.”
To send your comments to a House of Commons committee receiving public input on the TPP, please click here.
