In his ‘mandate letter’ to Trade minister Chrystia Freeland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau writes:
“In particular, I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory, and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities:
– Develop strategies to implement the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and consult on Canada’s potential participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This will include working with relevant ministers and provinces and territories to support adjustment in sectors including agriculture, the auto sector, and compensation for incremental cost increases to public drug plans arising from CETA.”
CETA has not yet been ratified in either Canada or the European Union. Presently, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow is in Europe speaking at public forums, being interviewed by the media, and meeting with individuals and organizations to help build public opposition there to CETA as well as the United States-European Union Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)/ Investment Court System (ICS) provisions. The Council of Canadians first began opposing CETA in October 2008. It is expected that ratification votes could take place in Europe in late 2016 or early 2017.
The Council of Canadians also opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We have called on the prime minister to conduct an independent analysis on the implications of the agreement, hold public hearings, seek First Nation consent, oppose the ISDS provision in the deal, and insulate the COP 21 climate agreement from this provision.
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