The Council of Canadians Quill Plains (Wynyard) chapter has written Wallonia’s Minister-President Paul Magnette in support of his position on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Magnette is threatening to block the ratification of CETA. If his government refuses to ratify CETA, the deal would collapse. That’s because, as The Globe and Mail points out, unanimity is required among all 38 national and regional parliaments in the European Union and any one of those parliaments can veto the agreement.
Chapter activist Elaine Hughes writes, “Please be assured that I stand with you and the people of Wallonia in your concern over how disputes are to be resolved in CETA. This particular issue has been of concern since the very beginning of this fiasco; here in Canada, you may know, we call CETA a ‘Corporate Rights Agreement’!”
She adds, “I am not against trade between nations; it keeps the world turning. But I am favour of an enlightened world involved in FAIR trade which benefits the people, not the corporations. We wish you luck in resolving this item to the satisfaction of you, your government, your people and, needless to say, other like-minded Canadians.”
The Globe and Mail has also reported, “In his book, titled CETA: When Europe Derails, Magnette offers a candid assessment of how Canadian and EU officials [including then-trade minister Chrystia Freeland and CETA envoy Pierre Pettigrew] tried to pressure Wallonia, using emotional pitches and blunt threats. …[Pettigrew told Magnette] that Wallonia’s refusal to back CETA would be a punch in the stomach for Mr. Trudeau and that there would ‘inevitably be heavy repercussions for relations between Wallonia and Canada’.”
Undoubtedly, the Trudeau government will use “emotional pitches and blunt threats” against Magnette again to get CETA passed.
To send a message to Magnette and the people of Wallonia that says the Trudeau government does not speak for you, 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)
#StopCETA