The Council of Canadians South Niagara chapter has written to independent and non-affiliated senators asking them to oppose Bill C-30, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act.
The 105-seat Senate of Canada is comprised of 34 independent senators, 8 non-affiliated senators, 19 Senate Liberals, and 39 Conservative Party senators.
South Niagara chapter activist Melissa McGlashan drafted two letters – one sent to female senators, the other to male senators.
The letter sent to female senators notes, “I have recently read an article that indicates that women will be disadvantaged by CETA and that the government has not yet considered the impact that CETA will have on women.”
McGlashan then cites a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives article that highlights, “CETA, when combined with cuts to public services and the implementation of regressive policies, will mean that Canada’s gender gap could widen. These changes need to be considered together because CETA will further undermine the public sector. This is important because women rely more on public services, face less employment discrimination in the public sector, and are paid comparatively more in the public sector than in the private sector.”
And the letter sent to male senators states, “The federal government has not done a study of the economic impact of CETA post-Brexit, which is extremely important given that the only European Union nation state with which Canada has a trade surplus is the UK. Please consider sending Bill C-30 back to the House of Commons for a post-Brexit economic study. This would help to delay provisional implementation until the situation in Europe is clearer and to potentially avoid irreparable policy changes that will negatively impact all Canadians.”
C-30 passed second reading in the House of Commons in December 2016 and was referred to a Senate committee for consideration earlier this month.
To become law, the bill must pass third reading in the House of Commons (which could happen soon), then be passed by the Senate, and then receive Royal Assent from the Governor-General.
To send a message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that urges him “to stop the third reading of Bill C-30, and send CETA back for the review, consultation and additional debate it needs”, please see this online action alert.