tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89356955741792012582024-03-20T19:28:51.660-07:00Citizens Against CETA<center>Concerned citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador speaking out against the Canadian European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).</center>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00827449657309651903noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-33204761912039490432017-02-16T15:13:00.000-08:002017-02-16T15:13:17.737-08:00This week the Canadian government enacted legislation to implement CETA. <br />
<br />
Throughout the last five years our governments have resolutely refused to listen to the many, articulately presented arguments against CETA. Research detailing how CETA would harm our economy, our environment and democracy itself was always ignored. Government just ploughed ahead with glib one-liners about the benefits of free trade and trade agreements. <br />
<br />
It's now up to the Europeans to rescue us from CETA. That's not right.<br />
<br />
We, at Citizens against CETA, aren't about to give up. We believe we need to simplify our message. We've done that in this short, simplistic,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_iqmaQKC4U&t=20s" target="_blank"> four minute video</a> on the pitfalls of CETA. Check it out. Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-36673278259524938482016-11-03T08:19:00.000-07:002016-11-03T08:19:31.507-07:00How the Walloons stand against CETA got twisted in our mainstream mediaWallonia's principled opposition to CETA has been misrepresented by both the Canadian government and much of the corporate media in Canada. The wounded elephant in the CETA room that none of them want to talk about is democratic governance.<br />
<br />
That stands in stark contrast to what's been happening in Belgium. Here's the<a href="http://theindependent.ca/2016/11/02/what-really-prompted-wallonias-feisty-standoff-against-ceta/" target="_blank"> message</a> we think the Walloons wanted us to hear. Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-92067815643470350812016-10-19T08:47:00.000-07:002016-10-19T08:47:47.814-07:00With Gratitude to the Walloons<span style="font-size: large;">The Wallonian parliament has rejected CETA as it stands, which means that Belgium can not sign on to CETA. As a consequence, unless the Walloons have a change of heart CETA will not go forward. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is tremendous news for all of us who view CETA as an assault on our democratic right to govern ourselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here are two links worth following on the current situation:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.dewereldmorgen.be/docs/2016/10/17/canadian-academics-open-letter-on-the-ceta-to-wallonia-.pdf" target="_blank">An Open Letter to the Parliament of Wallonia</a> <span style="font-size: small;">from Canadian Academics.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2016/10/great-ceta-swindle" target="_blank">The Great CETA Swindle</a> <span style="font-size: small;">by Corporate Europe Observatory</span> </span></li>
</ul>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-71977878124869061542016-10-03T13:41:00.002-07:002016-10-03T13:41:57.149-07:00Trade Agreements: The Conflict between Evidence and Ideology<a href="http://www.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Letter-to-the-editor/2016-10-03/article-4654813/Trade-deals%3A-the-conflict-between-evidence-and-ideology/1" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Click here</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> to read about our assessment of how things went down at the Trade Committee meeting in St. John's last week.</span> Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-7806417039762815742016-09-28T11:09:00.000-07:002016-09-28T11:16:00.315-07:00Today we presented to the parliamentary committee on the TPPToday three civil society groups, Citizens against CETA, the Council of Canadians and the Social Justice Cooperative made presentations opposing the TPP to the International Trade Committee. Did we have any effect? <br />
<br />
A first impression is that we did not. In fact one of the independent observers felt compelled at the end of the presentations to point out how obvious the bias of most MPs appeared.<br />
<br />
In fairness, it is probable that most of our arguments had been heard before. On the other hand, with the exception of the NDP's Ms. Ramsey, the focus was clearly on the economic benefits as opposed to the democratic and constitutional constraints of trade agreements like the TPP. <br />
<br />
Thus, we presented from the perspective of democratic values, but we ended up answering questions from an economic perspective. <br />
<br />
Here's what we said.<br />
<br />
.......................................................................................................................................................<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank
you for giving me the opportunity to present. Citizens against CETA is a rather grandiose sounding name for a local
group of concerned citizens.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We
submitted a brief last June filled with statistics refuting the supposed
benefits of the TPP. But today I would like to talk about values.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">In
his meticulously researched book on wealth and income, <i>Capitalism in the 21st Century</i>, French economist, Thomas Piketty, concluded
that we were heading into a period of inequality such that the world has never
seen. If we are to change that, he said, "we have to bet everything on
democracy." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I
believe that inequality continues to grow precisely because, around the globe, democracy
is under attack. The aggressors aren’t terrorists or rogue nations. The aggressors
are international corporations backed by financial elites. The weapon used is a contract. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">The
TPP and CETA are gigantic contracts that define, not what corporations can and
can’t do in our country. Instead, these
contracts define what government itself can and can’t do. Any
government action, present and future, that is not clearly defined or not
written into the contract can be challenged by corporations in those infamous
investor-state tribunals where the
public good and environmental protection count for nothing. There, all that matters is entitlement under the
contract. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">According
to Osgood Hall investment treaty expert, Gus Van Harten, these contractual agreements
have succeeded in doing what no parliament has been previously able to do under
our English common law system, and that is fetter or straitjacket future parliaments <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I
believe that government is asleep at the wheel when it comes to acknowledging
the threat trade agreements pose for our democratic rights. But then, so too are the passengers in the
back seat, the Canadian public. The reason
in both cases is that we live in an age where economic values trump everything.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m
a retired social studies teacher. Around
the turn of the century every single course
that allowed a discussion of democracy and politics was deleted from the high school curriculum in my province and replaced with economic
education courses. There was a
consequence. In the 2011 federal election the last election for which we have a
breakdown by age, only 29% of young people under 25 bothered to vote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m
going to suggest that the same neglect of our democratic values has happened in
government. Economic values now dominate,
more precisely the economic values of neoliberalism with its emphasis on free
trade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">This Committee now has all sorts of hard evidence disputing the
Liberal Party`s claims about the benefits of free trade. But two important reports came out last week that I want
to highlight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The first was a Tufts University study on CETA. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“CETA", and this is a quote, "will cause
unemployment, inequality, welfare losses and a reduction of intra-EU
trade.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">That certainly suggests that
CETA is not the “Gold Standard of Trade Agreements” that Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister
Freeland maintain that it is. Will the
prime minister and his trade minister now reverse direction and call for a halt
to the provisional acceptance of CETA?
It all depends on what their true values are, doesn’t it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">The
new OECD report is even more interesting, in spite of its blinkered call for
more trade liberalization. Trade as a driver of GDP has fallen steadily
since 2009. In fact, trade growth is now lagging growth in the broader world economy this year
and that lag is likely to persist Emerging
countries in particular are pulling back
from a dependency on exports and choosing, instead, to develop internal markets as
a means of increasing GDP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">As for OECD countries, governments are increasingly being forced by their citizens
to question the benefits of a free trade model that has heightened
inequality,caused job losses, and straitjacketed government`s ability to deal with either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Consider
the way that the TPP unexpectedly became a major campaign issue in the US elections.
Consider Brexit - or last week when 320,000 Germans in multiple cities
demonstrated in the streets against the TTIP and CETA. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">These
aren’t going to be isolated incidences. According to the recent OECD report, election
results and polls in OECD countries are
pointing to a shift away from the traditional left–right divide among voters
towards anti-and pro-globalization electorates. That`s a very significant
development to consider. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">As members of the trade committee, you hold an enormous responsibility. I`m sure you’ve been watching closely how public
opinion is coalescing against these trade agreements elsewhere. But
you are also affected by the unwavering, ideological enthusiasm those who control policy in our two major parties
still have for free trade. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">How
do you choose between ideological faith in free trade on the one side and substantial
evidence on the other side that our
trade policy will hurt Canadian value added industries, increase inequality and
fetter democratic governance? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Surely
it`s with values. What do you value
most? Do you believe that you have a
responsibility to your children and grandchildren and community to preserve democracy
and fight initiatives that promote inequality. Because I ‘m hoping if you do, you will say a resounding and public <b>NO</b> to trade agreements
like the TPP. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">Marilyn Reid for Citizens against CETA</span></div>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-87428732422307511422016-09-27T05:50:00.001-07:002016-09-27T05:50:26.142-07:00An opportunity to tell government what you think of the TPP and CETA<span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow the International Trade Committee will be in St. John's to hear submissions on the TPP. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The location is the Sheraton Hotel, Salon B. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> There will be an opportunity for the public to speak between 11.30 and 12:30. Come along and help us alert government about the perils of the TPP, CETA and other trade agreements.</span>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-69398669385644595742016-09-23T09:00:00.001-07:002016-09-25T07:38:37.098-07:00The Power of Public ProtestLast week 320,000 Germans in different cities took to the streets to protest the TTIP and CETA. There were also demonstrations in other parts of Europe. <br />
<br />
Watch this amazing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7bqPhNwCAk" target="_blank">video </a>of people protesting the TTIP and CETA in Brussels.Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-51384059914918503922016-09-22T11:30:00.000-07:002016-09-22T11:30:25.389-07:00Here's the Brief sent to the International Trade Committee from the St. John's chapter of the Council of Canadians<div>
<br /></div>
<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What trade agreements like the TPP mean to us</span></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
would like to first thank the Committee for giving us the opportunity to submit
our opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We
have read the TPP briefs submitted to the International Trade Committee over
the last few months and are confident that both the purported pros and cons of
the TPP have been comprehensively addressed. What is interesting from our
perspective is where the support for the TPP lies and where it does not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Not
surprisingly, the pro TPP submissions came from Big Business. The majority, we
noticed, were written in support of the export of agricultural commodities.
There were almost no pro TPP submissions from Canada’s value added industries
with production in Canada. That is very telling, is it not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It is
in the anti TPP camp that you will find the family farmers, the unions, civil
society groups and, above all, ordinary citizens. Their priorities are very
different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Overwhelmingly,
these submissions assert that trade agreements like the TPP constrain
government’s ability to protect the quality of life of Canadians. Whether it is
issues around affordable health care, the outsourcing of jobs, environmental
protection, government procurement and so much more, the point is being
repeatedly made that the TPP and its predecessor, CETA, are a corporate assault
on Canada’s legislative and judicial sovereignty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
big question is: Which perspective is government going to favour? Will
government come down on the side of keeping our democratic institutions strong?
Or will you choose the side of Big Business? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We cite two reasons for our inclination to think the voice of
ordinary Canadians will not win out.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Brexit Reaction</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">:
Roughly </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/07/cetaintrouble"><span style="color: blue;">one third of Canada’s trade with the European Union (EU) is with Great Britain</span></a><sup>1</sup></span></u><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, a country whose
citizens have just voted to exit the EU. In light of this development, one
might have expected our federal government to choose to reassess CETA.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Instead,
Canada, along with the unelected European Commission, has pushed for the preliminary
or provisional ratification of CETA as quickly as possible. To use a business
analogy, imagine a corporation has negotiated a 20 year contract at a fixed
price. Then, unexpectedly at the 11<sup>th</sup> hour they discover that the
other party can only deliver two thirds of the promised market access. Would
the company respond by rushing through the deal? </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">No
way, yet that</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">s exactly what has happened. We think it unequivocally suggests
that government is not logical in its ideological enthusiasm for free trade. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“<b><a href="http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2014/03/its-arguable-that-we-now-live-in-a-dictatorship-punctuated-by-manipulated-elections-says-elizabeth-may/"><span style="color: blue;">Excessive power in the hands of the few</span></a>”<sup>2</sup>.
</b>In an interview before her 2014 Mallory Lecture at McGill University,
Elizabeth May made two very strong statements to clarify her claim. She
referred to<span style="color: #333333;"> “the excessive control by the unelected
top party brass in <i>all three main parties</i>” . It’s flip side, she pointed
out, was that “MPs are expected to toe the party line on every issue, big and
small.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By
extension we can’t help wondering whether the International Trade Committee,
(and this is not a critique of the hard work and integrity of individual
members) will ultimately be required to toe the line. International
trade was the <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/bad-medicine-pt-2"><span style="color: blue;">top lobbying topic for Canada in 2015</span></a>.<sup>3</sup> Clearly, powerful business interests want
this deal to go through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Indeed, it has occurred to us and others that the Trade
Committee might be merely a side show, conveniently filling time while the top
party brass waits to see what happens with the TPP in the U.S. After all, it
would be embarrassing if we rushed the TPP through and then found that the American
people succeeded in having it rejected, in spite of President Obama’s
enthusiasm for the deal.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">For
the last 15 years the international business community and their advocates
within government have pushed Canada into signing multiple<b> </b>trade
agreements. The results have been, to put it mildly, disappointing. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Exports to countries with
which Canada does not presently have a free trade agreement (FTA) grew </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">six times as fast</span></a></span><u><sup><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">4</span></sup></u><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> as to those with whom we
do have an FTA during that period.<sup>4 </sup>Meanwhile, imports from our
trade agreement partners grew twice as fast as our exports to them. And
Canada’s export performance has been the</span><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="color: #31849b; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">2</span></a></span><sup><span style="color: #31849b; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">nd</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="color: #31849b; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> worst<sup>5</sup> </span></a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">of any OECD country.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As if that is not bad enough, respected simulation studies
predict that the TPP will </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">not only increase unemployment in Canada,
but will do so </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html"><span style="color: blue;">at a higher per capita level than in any other country</span></a><span style="color: #333333;">.<sup>6</sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html"><span style="color: blue;">increase inequality worldwide</span></a><span style="color: #333333;">.<sup>7</sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ecidc2014misc1_bp12.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">cause a 26% drop in Canada’s value added exports</span></a><span style="color: #333333;">.<sup>8</sup></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It seems irrational to us that any democratically elected
government, aware of all of the above, might want to ratify a deal as huge as
the TPP.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Unfortunately, we Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have learned
the hard way how easy it is for bad deals to irrationally proceed. Our province
has a hydro-electric project in Labrador that is massively over budget, is
economically unfeasible, will extravagantly raise NL electricity rates, and
could come close to bankrupting the province. It was imposed on us by a
provincial government that chose to refuse any meaningful consultation process
with the public but listened intensely to the advice of powerful business
interests. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">There is another potential problem. In spite of the fact that
most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians want to shut down and cut our losses in
this massive boondoggle of a project, that could be difficult to do. That’s
because our contractual obligations with big international corporations could conceivably
leave us open to huge NAFTA, and future CETA or TPP ISDS lawsuits challenges. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We raise this point because past and present Canadian governments
have tended to portray ISDS lawsuits as a necessary and acceptable risk of
engaging in trade agreements. This view continues in spite of mounting
international evidence of the extensive economic and political damage these
ISDS lawsuits have caused in other countries. Presumably, it’s more
ideologically convenient to believe all those corporate lobbyists who assert
that the trend towards multi-billion dollar lawsuits is not something that
could happen in this country. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Civil society groups understand very clearly that ISDS lawsuits --
and there will be lots under the TPP -- are an unnecessary corporate assault on
the democratic right to govern. Government is in denial on that point.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We would also suggest that, at this point in time, civil society
groups apparently understand what’s better for the Canadian economy than the
international business interests that push so hard for the ratification of
these trade deals. Government again appears to be in denial of the evidence
that supports this assessment.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In conclusion, we believe the International Trade Committee has an
enormous responsibility to do what’s right for the citizens that elected you to
office. That would be, in our opinion, a recommendation against the TPP.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ken Kavenagh</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andrea Furlong</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Marilyn Reid</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">for the St. John's chapter of the Council of Canadians</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Appendix</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.23in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
</div>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/07/cetaintrouble/"><b><i><span style="color: #222222;">Why the Canada – EU Trade Deal is in More Trouble
Than the Government Admits</span></i></b></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/07/cetaintrouble/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/07/cetaintrouble/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2014/03/its-arguable-that-we-now-live-in-a-dictatorship-punctuated-by-manipulated-elections-says-elizabeth-may/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2014/03/its-arguable-that-we-now-live-in-a-dictatorship-punctuated-by-manipulated-elections-says-elizabeth-may/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Council of Canadians: Michael
Butler’s Blog <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/bad-medicine-pt-2"><span style="color: blue;">http://canadians.org/blog/bad-medicine-pt-2</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stanford, Jim. <i>Signing trade
deals is not synonymous with promoting trade. Progressive Economics (2016)
</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9.0pt;">Ibid</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Capaldo, Jeronim, Izurieta,
Alex and Sundaram</span><b><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jomo Kwame </span><i><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trading Down:Unemployment, Inequality and
Other Risks of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">GDAE Working Paper 16-01 </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">January 2016 </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ibid</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rashmi Banga. <i>Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement (TPPA): Implications for Malaysia's Domestic
Value-Added Trade</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ecidc2014misc1_bp12.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ecidc2014misc1_bp12.pdf</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
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Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-83017421783958942312016-08-02T08:22:00.001-07:002016-08-02T08:22:27.587-07:00Brexit, Trumpism and the Challenge to Globalism<br />
There has been a lot of media coverage on the displays of xenophobia surrounding the Brexit vote in the U.K. and Donald Trump's presidential campaign. These are deplorable actions and should be condemned. <br />
<br />
An unfortunate consequence, however, of both the focus on Trump's more outrageous statements and the isolated acts of racism in the U.K. has been to divert attention away from what discouraged Brits and Americans are saying about our globalist experiment of the last 30 years. <br />
<br />
Here's an article that explores their point of view. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://theindependent.ca/2016/08/01/brexit-trumpism-and-the-challenge-to-globalism/">http://theindependent.ca/2016/08/01/brexit-trumpism-and-the-challenge-to-globalism/</a>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-91253710300825209542016-07-27T10:52:00.001-07:002016-07-27T10:52:49.965-07:00Our submission to the International Trade Committee on the TPPHere's what we submitted to the House of Commons International Trade Committee on the Trans Pacific Partnership. We took it as an opportunity to also express our displeasure about the CETA agreement.<br />
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Submission<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The House of Commons Standing
Committee on International Trade<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">by</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Marilyn Reid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Citizens
against CETA <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">St. John’s NL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="file:///F:/citizensagainstceta.blogspot.ca">(citizensagainstceta.blogspot.ca)</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="mailto:citizensagainstceta@gmail.com">citizensagainstceta@gmail.com</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">July, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First
let me thank the Committee for the opportunity to submit this brief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
are four concerns we would like to express. They relate to the impact of trade
agreements like the TPP on our parliamentary democracy, our judicial
sovereignty and the Canadian economy. Finally, we would like to address the inherent
imbalance of the lobbying process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> The impact of the TPP and other trade
agreements on democratic governance.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
seems to us that there is an invisible elephant on the table in discussions
about the merits of trade agreements that the Prime Minister, elected MPs and
civil servants, particularly in the Department of International Trade, rarely
acknowledge. That elephant is democratic
governance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Trade agreements like the TPP and CETA are a clever back door way of
getting around one of our most important democratic principles</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">. It’s called the No-Fettering Rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“In Canadian law (based on the English common law) there is a
democratic principle called the no-fettering rule that bars one elected
government from making commitments to bind another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> However, the principle does
not exist in international law and an international agreement cannot be
trumped by the laws of Canada.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">from <b><i>Sold Down the Yangtze</i></b> by Gus Van Harten, Osgood Hall Law
School <sup>1<o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Thus, a government, driven by ideology or corporate interests, can surreptitiously
use a trade agreement (which falls under international law) to fetter future
governments for decades. That can happen through targeting highly specific
policies for elimination (such as Minimum Processing Requirements in our
province of Newfoundland or Labrador). But the fettering language can be more
general, and therefore open to interpretations that government never intended. We’ve chosen to focus on just three of the
many ways in which this type of fettering can take place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">Regulatory Fettering:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Under
trade agreements like NAFTA, the TPP and CETA, corporations are able to legally
challenge the right of future governments to create and amend regulations. They
can do this by claiming their “</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://wp.nyu.edu/megareg/wp-content/uploads/sites/3134/2016/03/Alvarez_IILJ-MegaReg_2016-3.pdf">legitimate expectations
under the Fair and Equitable Treatment</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">”<sup>2</sup> clauses
have been violated.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
most frequent targets of these legal challenges have been, and probably will
continue to be, government attempts to protect the environment and manage our
resources. However, the TPP is notable in that it goes beyond NAFTA in also making
it </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2016/06/Foreign_Investor_Protections_TPP.pdf">harder to regulate the
financial sector</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">.<sup>3</sup> The reasons for the 2008
financial collapse have apparently been forgotten.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
most troubling aspect of regulatory fettering is invisible. For example, there
is evidence that the mere corporate threat of an ISDS NAFTA lawsuit has caused
government to modify or reconsider planned and needed new regulations.<sup>4 <o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Fettering Public Services:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Both the TPP (at the federal level) and CETA (in sub-federal
jurisdictions as well) use a “</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://tradejustice.ca/ceta/ceta-and-services/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">negative list</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">”<sup>5</sup> approach to protect public
services. That means that any attempt by future </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">government</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">s</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> to introduce a public service that has not been already protected on </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">the</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> “negative list</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">s</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">” can be legally challenged
by</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> TPP or</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CETA</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> investors</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Furthermore, under the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2014/09/making_sense_of_the_ceta_PUBLICSERVICES.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ratchet</span></a></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> mechanism, if government decides to privatize a
public service, that privatization becomes locked in. The service cannot be
brought back into the public sector<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">What about Pharmacare? </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Under both </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/blog/ceta-costs-pharmacare-saves-which-did-harper-choose"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">CETA</span></a></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">7</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> and the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/02/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-33-setting-the-rules-for-a-future-pharmacare-program/"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">TPP</span></a></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">8</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> it will be very difficult for future
governments to introduce a national “Pharmacare” program that will not have
costly restrictions placed on it by the big pharmaceutical corporations.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Fettering Government
Procurement: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">50 municipalities<sup>9</sup></span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">, including the largest in the country,
petitioned their provincial governments asking that public spending at the
municipal level be excluded from CETA. Their argument was that the right of
governments to use “Buy Local policies” to stimulate local economies should not
be tampered with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Government’s response was, in essence, to side step the core issue of the
fettering of government authority by simply raising the threshold beyond which
CETA’s procurement restrictions would kick in. We find it significant that, by
contrast, TPP countries, chose to protect ``</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/politics/story/1.3257397"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Buy Local</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">``<sup>10</sup> policies in sub-federal
jurisdictions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Are we exaggerating our claim that the TPP and CETA are a long-lasting
assault on the traditional power of government? Not according to Nobel Prize
winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz. He asserts that </span><u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">the </span></u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">intent of many TPP provisions is</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <span style="background: #EEECE1; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">“</span></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/trans-pacific-free-trade-charade"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EEECE1; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">to make it hard
for governments to conduct their basic functions - protecting their
citizens</span><span style="background: #EEECE1; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EEECE1; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">health and safety,
ensuring economic stability, and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EEECE1; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">safeguarding the environment</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EEECE1; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">.”</span></a></span><span style="background: rgb(238, 236, 225); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <sup>11</sup></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> We would say Ditto for
CETA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> The impact of the TPP and other trade
agreements on Canada’s judicial sovereignty<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">What happens if a future government rebels and chooses not to be fettered
by the TPP or CETA? Under the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) regime
they can be sued by investing corporations in offshore tribunals. These
tribunals </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">can </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">demand that governments
pay huge (multi-billion dollar) compensation to corporations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">These ISDS tribunals can also override Canadian courts and profoundly fetter
future government actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">A salient example is the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Exxon Mobil Murphy
Oil lawsuit</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">.<sup>12</sup> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Three levels
of Canadian courts rejected arguments made by US oil companies that a tribunal
in Newfoundland and Labrador could not lawfully tighten requirements related to
oil company research and development in the province. When the oil companies
took the lawsuit to the NAFTA ISDS tribunal the tribunal chose to ignore </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">the interpretation of the Canadian courts. Not
only did the government have to pay generous compensation to the corporations. The
tribunal ruled that Canada would continue to be liable as long as the
restrictive regulations stayed in place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> Also, of notable significance is the
current </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2014/08/20-year-old-patent-application-end-canadas-biggest-trade-deal-2/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Eli Lilly NAFTA
lawsuit<sup>13</sup></span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> against Canada. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Eli Lilly is
challenging </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSans; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">decisions by Canada’s federal courts to invalidate the company’s
patents for two drugs. Canadian courts had decided that Eli Lilly had presented
insufficient evidence to show the drugs would deliver the promised long-term
benefits</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">. According</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> to Ottawa University
law professor<span style="background: #EEECE1; mso-shading-themecolor: background2;">,
</span></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2014/08/20-year-old-patent-application-end-canadas-biggest-trade-deal/"><span style="background: #EEECE1; color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-shading-themecolor: background2; mso-themecolor: text1;">Michael
Geist</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: rgb(238, 236, 225); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">, “If
the pharmaceutical giant succeeds, it will have effectively found a mechanism
to override the Supreme Court of Canada.”<sup>14<o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Canada has been sued 39 times under NAFTA. That’s more than any
other developed country in the world. Expect an acceleration of ISDS lawsuits
if the TPP is ratified. It may even be dramatic. That’s because, at present, </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">disputes over procurement contracts or public-private
partnerships are typically resolved in Canadian courts. The TPP would allow multinational
corporations who enter into contracts with the federal government (either to
supply goods and services or to deliver or operate privatized services and
infrastructure) </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: MetaSerifOT-Book; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">to pursue ISDS lawsuits<sup>15</sup>. This is a very significant extension of the definition of
what kind of investor is entitled to use the ISDS mechanism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">The silence of our judiciary on the impact of the TPP and CETA stands in
contrast to what’s been happening elsewhere in the world. Even before this
latest development was revealed, internationally there has been substantial and
growing judicial and legal opposition to the ISDS regime. That includes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/55126361/eaj-report-tipp-court-october"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The European
Association of Judges<sup>16</sup> </span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">(representing 44 judicial associations across Europe)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.ncsc.org/Services-and-Experts/Government-Relations/International/Free-Trade-Agreements.aspx"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">The National Center for State </span></a><a href="http://www.ncsc.org/Services-and-Experts/Government-Relations/International/Free-Trade-Agreements.aspx"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Courts (US)</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">17</span></sup></span><u><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></u></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">New </span></a><a href="https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Zealand </span></a><a href="https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Jurists</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">18</span></sup></span><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bilaterals.org/?opinion-on-the-establishment-of-an&lang=en"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">The largest German Magistrates Association<sup>19</sup>
</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.afj.org/press-room/press-releases/more-than-100-legal-scholars-call-on-congress-administration-to-protect-democracy-and-sovereignty-in-u-s-trade-deals"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">American Legal Scholars</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">20<o:p></o:p></span></sup></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We applaud their stance. Our position is that Canada should be
working to reform the ISDS obligations ceded under NAFTA, rather than signing
trade agreements that will further fetter our court system through enlarged
concessions to huge international corporations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The impact
of the TPP and CETA on the Canadian economy<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Did you know that between 2001 and 2015:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Exports to countries with which Canada does
not presently have a free trade agreement (FTA) grew </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">six
times as fast</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> as to those with whom we do have an FTA? <sup>21</sup></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Our imports from our trade agreement partners
grew twice as fast as our exports to them.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Canada’s export performance since the turn of
century has been the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">2</span></a></span><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">nd</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"> worst </span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">of any OECD country?<sup>22</sup></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In spite of these sobering statistics, economists and lobbyists
from the powerful corporate think tanks continue to enthusiastically push for
the ratification of the TPP and CETA. Canada has to participate, we’re told, because
so many other countries do. Our poor performance to date is rationalized by the
claim that there is always a lag period while countries adjust to a different
economic reality. If we are just patient, we are told, the benefits will
eventually flow to Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In response to the argument that we have no choice but to
participate, we would point out that there is </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2016/apr/29/how-ttip-and-ceta-got-little-bit-less-likely-last-week"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> substantial and growing opposition to NAFTA
style trade agreements</span></a></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">23</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> in both the
United States and the EU. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As for the claim that the benefits of free trade will come if we
are patient, some well-respected research, as well as dissent from Canadian
entrepreneurs, suggest exactly the opposite. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">Jobs:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"> According
to a </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">study out of Tufts
University </span></a></span><u><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">24 </span></sup></u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">which used the UN Global
Policy Model, the TPP is going to </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">increase
inequality and cause job
losses in all 12 participating
countries. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">The model predicts highest per capita job losses in </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/03/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-50-the-case-against-ratifying-the-trans-pacific-partnership/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Canada</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">.<sup>25</sup> CETA will
also provoke job losses, particularly in manufacturing and processing sectors, according
to a </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/ceta-undermines-canada%E2%80%99s-ability-benefit-increased-international-trade">2010 CCPA report</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">.<sup>26<o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Canadian Businesses: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">A United Nations </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ecidc2014misc1_bp12.pdf"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">UNCTAD study</span></a></span><u><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">27</span></sup></u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"> (Table 2, pg. 24) predicts
a 26% drop in Canada’s value-added exports as a consequence of the TPP.
Particularly hard hit will be innovative industries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“Once ratified, the (TPP) agreement will
make our markets less free and less competitive, and it will particularly
hurt innovation-based entrepreneurship.” </span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/trans-pacific-partnership-is-a-wonderful-idea-for-china/article27939142/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Dan </span></a><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/trans-pacific-partnership-is-a-wonderful-idea-for-china/article27939142/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Breznitz</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">, Monk Chair of
Innovative Studies, University of Toronto.</span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt;">28<o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Canadian business leaders who have spoken out against different
aspects of the TPP include:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/for-canadian-innovators-will-tpp-mean-protection-or-colonialism/article28462854/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Former
</span></a><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/for-canadian-innovators-will-tpp-mean-protection-or-colonialism/article28462854/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">co-CEO
of Research in Motion Jim </span></a><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/for-canadian-innovators-will-tpp-mean-protection-or-colonialism/article28462854/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Balsillie</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,<sup>29</sup> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/18/shopify-ceo-calls-on-federal-government-to-abandon-tax-plan-for-stock-options_n_9266156.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Shopify</span></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/18/shopify-ceo-calls-on-federal-government-to-abandon-tax-plan-for-stock-options_n_9266156.html"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/18/shopify-ceo-calls-on-federal-government-to-abandon-tax-plan-for-stock-options_n_9266156.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">CEO
Tobi </span></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/18/shopify-ceo-calls-on-federal-government-to-abandon-tax-plan-for-stock-options_n_9266156.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Lutke</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,<sup>30<o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/trans-pacific-partnership-deal-bad-for-auto-sector-ford-canada-head-says/article26968929/">CEO of Ford Canada, Dianne Craig<sup>31</sup></a></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://donlepan.blogspot.ca/2015/10/copyright-tpp-and-canadian-election.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Canadian
</span></a><a href="http://donlepan.blogspot.ca/2015/10/copyright-tpp-and-canadian-election.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">publisher
Don </span></a><a href="http://donlepan.blogspot.ca/2015/10/copyright-tpp-and-canadian-election.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">LePan</span></a><a href="http://donlepan.blogspot.ca/2015/10/copyright-tpp-and-canadian-election.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"> of
Broadview Press</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,<sup>32</sup></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.nfu.ca/issues/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">The National Farmers Union </span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">which represents family farms<sup>33<o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As for the CETA agreement, the obligatory opening up of provincial
and municipal procurement to corporations based in Europe is a one way
concession. Canadian companies will find it very hard to penetrate the European
market given both the linguistic and diverse regulatory challenges in place
there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): </span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It seems to us that the big question with
respect to FDI in Canada is not how much money will come into the country, but
rather what it will be used for. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Measurement of FDI in Canada in the 16 years after the CUFTA and NAFTA
were signed (1985-2001) showed that </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/ftaa-trade-negotiators-should-heed-lessons-nafta"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">96.6% </span></a><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/ftaa-trade-negotiators-should-heed-lessons-nafta"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">of investments</span></a></span><u><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">34</span></sup></u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> were used for the acquisition of existing
businesses. Less than 3% was used for the introduction of new industries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Does government really believe that FDI under the TPP and CETA is going
to be used to start up new industries that will benefit our economy? Isn’t it
much more likely that the objective of international corporations is greater
access (either through P3s or increased privatization) to that enormous cash
cow, the delivery of public services? How does guaranteeing them that access through
trade agreements benefit the Canadian economy?</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> Lobbying: Which voices most influence
government? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">According to Statistics Canada, international
trade was the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/blog/bad-medicine-pt-2"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">top lobbying topic<sup>35</sup> </span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">for
Canada in 2015. While we were unable to find out just how much money is spent
on lobbying governments in Canada, we are pretty sure that a minuscule fraction
of the total amount spent comes from civil society groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">Government will, no doubt, argue that civil
society is already represented by the MPs we elect. However, it`s a very
selective representation. MPs do an excellent job at responding to constituency
issues but trade is not considered a constituency issue. How many MPs outside
of the trade committee have been briefed in a comprehensive and unbiased manner
on both the pros and cons of these trade agreements? How many have been
encouraged to bring trade issues back to their constituents for discussion?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">As for the promised public consultations on
the TPP, they were, in our opinion, initially structured to avoid having to
talk with the public. For a long time there was no schedule posted on the
government website as to where and when public consultations would take place
with the result that interested civil society groups either missed the
“presentations” or were given </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sujata-dey/tpp-consultations_b_9550642.html">less than 24 hours’ notice</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">.<sup>36</sup>
That’s since been corrected but only after civil society groups went public
with their disappointment.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">With respect to CETA, we would like to remind the Committee that civil
society groups had minimal access to government during the excessively
secretive CETA negotiations. This stood in stark contrast to the access </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/sites/default/files/publications/CETA-corporations-1010.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">corporate lobbyists<sup>37</sup>
</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> were granted to negotiators. Thus,
while presentations were accepted by the International Trade Committee early on
in the negotiation process, civil society groups, unlike the corporate sector, were
at the considerable disadvantage of having to rely on leaked and outdated
material to make their case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Civil society groups hoped and expected that that bias would be corrected
with the election of a new government committed to more openness and reform.
The decision not to hold public consultations or revisit CETA through the
Parliamentary Committee profoundly surprised us. It`s hard not to conclude that government
wants the general public to know as little about this trade agreement as
possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Our conclusions</span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(238, 236, 225); margin: 0in 14.2pt 0.0001pt 28.35pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">“</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.liberal.ca/statement-by-liberal-party-of-canada-leader-justin-trudeau-on-the-trans-pacific-partnership/"><span lang="EN-US">The Liberal Party of Canada strongly supports free trade</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">as this is how we open markets to Canadian goods and services, grow
Canadian businesses, create good-paying jobs</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">and provide choice and lower prices to
Canadian consumers.”<sup>38</sup></span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Could it be that the political enthusiasm of our mainstream
parties for free trade is based more on ideology than evidence? Studies analyzing or estimating past and
future performance suggest that the TPP will not open markets for our value
added industries. Nor will it grow
genuine Canadian businesses. And it will not create good paying jobs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As for the CETA agreement, restrictions on the procurement of
goods and services at the sub-federal level represent an enormous concession to
the giant corporations that have lobbied so heavily for this agreement. CETA also includes a “zombie clause” that will
allow these corporations to continue suing government for up to 20 years even
if a future government chooses to withdraw from the agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We would
like to end with three questions for the committee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">What possible justification could the
Canadian government have for ratifying two trade agreements that will so
significantly fetter the legislative and adjudicate power and authority of
future governments? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Where is the positive economic evidence
justifying the ratification of either the TPP or CETA?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 8.65pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Is it not time to reassess Canada’s free
trade policy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our
group is aware of all the time and effort Committee members must put into
reading briefs like our own. This is a huge responsibility. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
hope that, in diligently examining all the evidence, you will come to the
conclusion, as we have, that the ratification of these trade agreements is not
in Canada’s best interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marilyn
Reid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for
Citizens against CETA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -50.0pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Van Harten, Gus. <i>Sold down the Yangtze</i>. 2015: p 27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Alvarez, José E. <i>Is the
Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Investment Chapter the New “Gold Standard”?</i>
Institute for International Law and Justice. 2016. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://wp.nyu.edu/megareg/wp-content/uploads/sites/3134/2016/03/Alvarez_IILJ-MegaReg_2016-3.pdf"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://wp.nyu.edu/megareg/wp-content/uploads/sites/3134/2016/03/Alvarez_IILJ-MegaReg_2016-3.pdf</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">Van Harten,
Gus and Scott, Dayna Nadine . <i>Investment
Treaties and the Internal Vetting of Regulatory Proposals: A Case Study from
Canada.</i> Journal of International Dispute Settlement, volume 7(1) (2016)</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Van Harten, Gus. <i>Foreign
investor protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership</i> CCPA. 2016 </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2016/06/Foreign_Investor_Protections_TPP.pdf"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2016/06/Foreign_Investor_Protections_TPP.pdf</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Robinson, David. <i>CETA
and Services</i> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://tradejustice.ca/ceta/ceta-and-services/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://tradejustice.ca/ceta/ceta-and-services/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Making Sense of the CETA</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2014/09/making_sense_of_the_ceta_PUBLICSERVICES.pdf"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2014/09/making_sense_of_the_ceta_PUBLICSERVICES.pdf</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">CETA
costs, Pharmacare saves; which did Harper choose?</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> Council of
Canadians. 2015. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/blog/ceta-costs-pharmacare-saves-which-did-harper-choose"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">http://canadians.org/blog/ceta-costs-pharmacare-saves-which-did-harper-choose</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Geist, Michael. <i>The
trouble with the TPP, Day 33</i> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/02/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-33-setting-the-rules-for-a-future-pharmacare-program/"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/02/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-33-setting-the-rules-for-a-future-pharmacare-program/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Municipal
Governments need a Say on CETA</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">, Council of Canadians. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Buy American provisions
maintained.</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
The Canadian Press, 2015. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/politics/story/1.3257397"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/politics/story/1.3257397</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">11.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>The Trans-Pacific Free-Trade Charade</i>. Yale Global Online 2016. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/trans-pacific-free-trade-charade"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/trans-pacific-free-trade-charade</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">12.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Van Harten, Gus, <i>Foreign
Investor Protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.</i> 2016 </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">13.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geist, Michael. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2014/08/20-year-old-patent-application-end-canadas-biggest-trade-deal-2/" title="Permalink to How a 20 Year Old Patent Application Could Up-End Canada’s Biggest Trade Deal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">How a 20 Year
Old Patent Application Could Up-End Canada’s Biggest Trade Deal</span></i></a></span><i><span style="color: #555555; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">.</span></i><span style="color: #555555; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> 2016 </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2014/08/20-year-old-patent-application-end-canadas-biggest-trade-deal-2/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2014/08/20-year-old-patent-application-end-canadas-biggest-trade-deal-2/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">14.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ibid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">15.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Van Harten, Gus. <i>Foreign
Investor Protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.</i> 2016, p 13. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://canadians.org/action/2012/CETA-resolution.html</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">16.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></i><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Statement from the European
Association of Judges (EAJ) on the Proposal from the European Commission on a
new Investment Court System. </span></i><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/55126361/eaj-report-tipp-court-october"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/55126361/eaj-report-tipp-court-october</span></a></span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">17.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></i><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">National
Centre for State Courts. </span><u><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></sup></u><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.ncsc.org/Services-and-Experts/Government-Relations/International/Free-Trade-Agreements.aspx"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">http://www.ncsc.org/Services-and-Experts/Government-Relations/International/Free-Trade-</span><sup>Agreements.aspx</sup></a></span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">18.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></i></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Open Letter</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">19.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Opinion on the
Establishment of Investment Tribunal in TTIP</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bilaterals.org/?opinion-on-the-establishment-of-an&lang=en"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://bilaterals.org/?opinion-on-the-establishment-of-an&lang=en</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">20.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Letter from American Legal Scholars, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.afj.org/press-room/press-releases/more-than-100-legal-scholars-call-on-congress-administration-to-protect-democracy-and-sovereignty-in-u-s-trade-deals"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.afj.org/press-room/press-releases/more-than-100-legal-scholars-call-on-congress-administration-to-protect-democracy-and-sovereignty-in-u-s-trade-deals</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">21.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stanford, Jim. <i>Signing
trade deals is not synonymous with promoting trade. Progressive Economics
(2016) </i></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">22.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2016/04/14/signing-trade-deals-is-not-synonymous-with-promoting-trade/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ibid</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">23.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dearden,
Nick.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #2a3942; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #2a3942; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">How TTIP and CETA got a little
bit less likely last week.</span></i><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2016/apr/29/how-ttip-and-ceta-got-little-bit-less-likely-last-week"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2016/apr/29/how-ttip-and-ceta-got-little-bit-less-likely-last-week</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">24.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span class="globalization14px1"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Capaldo, Jeronim, Izurieta, Alex and
Sundaram</span></span><span class="h11"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="globalization14px1"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jomo Kwame </span></span><span class="h11"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Trading Down:</span></i></span><span class="h21"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Unemployment, Inequality and Other Risks of
the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.</span></i></span><em><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">GDAE Working Paper 16-01 </span></em><span class="globalization14px1"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">January 2016</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/tpp_simulations.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">25.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geist, Michael. <i>The
Trouble with the TPP Day 50.</i> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/03/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-50-the-case-against-ratifying-the-trans-pacific-partnership/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/03/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-50-the-case-against-ratifying-the-trans-pacific-partnership/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">26.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jacobs, John and Culpepper, Roy. </span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-shading-themecolor: background1;">CETA undermines Canada’s ability to benefit from increased
international trade. </span></i><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/ceta-undermines-canada%E2%80%99s-ability-benefit-increased-international-trade"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/ceta-undermines-canada%E2%80%99s-ability-benefit-increased-international-trade</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">27.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rashmi Banga. <i>Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement (TPPA): Implications for Malaysia's Domestic Value-Added
Trade</i> </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ecidc2014misc1_bp12.pdf"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ecidc2014misc1_bp12.pdf</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">28.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">Breznitz, Dan
<span style="text-transform: uppercase;">. </span><i><span style="letter-spacing: -.45pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Trans-Pacific
Partnership is a wonderful idea – for China.</span></i></span><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span lang="EN-CA">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/trans-pacific-partnership-is-a-wonderful-idea-for-china/article27939142/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">29.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Balsillie, Jim. <i>For
Canadian innovators, will TPP mean protection – or colonialism?</i> Globe and
Mail 2016, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/for-canadian-innovators-will-tpp-mean-protection-or-colonialism/article28462854/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/for-canadian-innovators-will-tpp-mean-protection-or-colonialism/article28462854/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">30.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lutke, Toby. <i>Shopify
toby Lutke criticizes TPP. </i></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/18/shopify-ceo-calls-on-federal-government-to-abandon-tax-plan-for-stock-options_n_9266156.html"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/18/shopify-ceo-calls-on-federal-government-to-abandon-tax-plan-for-stock-options_n_9266156.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">31.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Keenan, Gred.<i> TPP is
bad deal for the auto sector. </i>The Globe and Mail. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/trans-pacific-partnership-deal-bad-for-auto-sector-ford-canada-head-says/article26968929/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/trans-pacific-partnership-deal-bad-for-auto-sector-ford-canada-head-says/article26968929/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lepan, Don. <i>Copyrite,
the TPP and Canadian Election</i><b>. </b></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://donlepan.blogspot.ca/2015/10/copyright-tpp-and-canadian-election.html"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://donlepan.blogspot.ca/2015/10/copyright-tpp-and-canadian-election.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">33.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Trans Pacific Partnership,
an agreement to benefit multinational corporations. </span></i><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.nfu.ca/issues/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.nfu.ca/issues/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">34.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">FTAA negotiators should heed lessons from NAFTA. </span></i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">CCPA
(2003) </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/ftaa-trade-negotiators-should-heed-lessons-nafta"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/ftaa-trade-negotiators-should-heed-lessons-nafta</span></a></span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">35.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bad Medicine, Part 2.</span></i><span lang="EN-CA"> <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/bad-medicine-pt-2"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://canadians.org/blog/bad-medicine-pt-2</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">36.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dey,
Sujata.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i><span style="color: #111111; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Chrystia Freeland's 'Public' TPP Consultations Are
Anything But</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">. </span><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span lang="EN-CA">http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sujata-dey/tpp-consultations_b_9550642.html<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">37.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">CETA and Corporate Lobbying</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://canadians.org/content/factsheet-ceta-and-corporate-lobbying-corporations-hold-power-over-negotiations"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://canadians.org/content/factsheet-ceta-and-corporate-lobbying-corporations-hold-power-over-negotiations</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">38.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Statement by Liberal Party
of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. </span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oct. 5, 2015. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.liberal.ca/statement-by-liberal-party-of-canada-leader-justin-trudeau-on-the-trans-pacific-partnership/"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.liberal.ca/statement-by-liberal-party-of-canada-leader-justin-trudeau-on-the-trans-pacific-partnership/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-74765918668340323412016-07-16T05:59:00.002-07:002016-07-16T05:59:28.772-07:00Biased Media Coverage of the TPP and CETA<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">"The Trudeau government is hell-bent on ratifying two massive investment agreements — the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — that will radically undermine Canadian democracy. Yet very few Canadians are informed about these deals because our mainstream media has been so irresponsible in reporting on their impacts. .............</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">For 25 years, the media has steadfastly refused to come anywhere near the truth of these deals and the recent Brexit crisis has fostered another round of media groupthink. The new favourite media frame to dismiss people opposed to these agreements? Isolationism."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">To learn more, read this excellent <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8935695574179201258#editor/target=post;postID=7476591866834032341" target="_blank">blog by Murray Dobbin</a>.</span><br />
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Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-85950776965633897752016-04-19T06:49:00.000-07:002016-04-19T06:54:56.299-07:00New PowerPoint on the TPP and CETA<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">CETA and the TPP will affect all levels of society for generations. <a href="http://stjohnscoc.weebly.com/ceta-and-tpp-powerpoint.html" target="_blank"> Download our PowerPoint presentation</a> and learn more about how these trade deals will impact jobs, the economy, democratic governance, and judicial sovereignty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After you download the file, go to the Slideshow tab and click 'From beginning'. Click through to navigate the slides.</span></span>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-38528378775654623652016-03-22T04:21:00.000-07:002016-03-22T04:24:17.182-07:00What Public Consultation on the TPP?<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">We went to a federal government-organized ‘public consultation’ on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that the general public didn’t seem to know about. <a href="http://theindependent.ca/2016/03/21/what-public-consultation-on-the-tpp/" target="_blank">Here's what went down</a>.</span></span>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-45498408947454288032016-02-03T09:22:00.001-08:002016-02-03T09:22:41.938-08:00Face it Folks. It's a Corporate Coup<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a synopsis of why we believe</span> <span style="font-size: large;">that <span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: cassiabold; line-height: 24px;">Bruno Marcocchio’s Jan. 19th letter to the Telegram opposing trade agreements hit the nail right on the head. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: cassiabold; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="http://www.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Letter-to-the-editor/2016-02-02/article-4422320/Births-1847" target="_blank">http://www.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Letter-to-the-editor/2016-02-02/article-4422320/Births-1847</a>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-43667258932368228082016-01-30T08:30:00.002-08:002016-01-30T08:30:59.917-08:00It's not just Lefties that dislike the TPP!"10 years from now we'll call it (the TPP) the signature worst thing in policy that Canada's ever done." To find out why former Blackberry co-chair, Jim Balsillie, feel so strongly about the TPP <a href="http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/29/why-you-need-to-know-about-the-tpp/" target="_blank">click</a> here.<br /><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
“10
years from now, we’ll call [the TPP] the signature worst thing in
policy that Canada’s ever done” - See more at:
http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/29/why-you-need-to-know-about-the-tpp/#sthash.5BpbdB8p.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
“10
years from now, we’ll call [the TPP] the signature worst thing in
policy that Canada’s ever done” - See more at:
http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/29/why-you-need-to-know-about-the-tpp/#sthash.5BpbdB8p.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
“10
years from now, we’ll call [the TPP] the signature worst thing in
policy that Canada’s ever done” - See more at:
http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/29/why-you-need-to-know-about-the-tpp/#sthash.5BpbdB8p.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
“10
years from now, we’ll call [the TPP] the signature worst thing in
policy that Canada’s ever done” - See more at:
http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/29/why-you-need-to-know-about-the-tpp/#sthash.5BpbdB8p.dpuf</div>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-67341590875995238112016-01-14T11:52:00.000-08:002016-01-14T11:52:15.496-08:00Three New NAFTA Lawsuits that Canadians Should be Worrying About<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">From an article published in The
Independent Jan 13<sup>th</sup>, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Abitibi Bowater is at it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In 2010 the company squeezed $130 million out of
Canadian taxpayers after the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
expropriated Abitibi’s hydroelectric assets in Grand Falls-Windsor
and took back water and timber rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The company threatened to sue Canada under
Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), prompting the
Harper administration to settle out of court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This all went down after Abitibi chose to pull
out of the province and used the excuse of imminent bankruptcy to give minimum
compensation to workers and pensioners, while paying nothing toward cleaning up
the environmental damage it had caused. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The company never did go out of business; after
emerging from bankruptcy proceedings under a new name, Resolute Forest
Products, it was business as usual on the mainland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This time the company closed down a mill in
Shawinigan, Que., and is again suing under NAFTA because, it claims,
a competing mill in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. was given an unfair trade advantage
when it was subsidized by the Government of Nova Scotia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Port Hawkesbury mill closed in 2011 but was
purchased by Pacific West Commercial for $33 million and reopened one year
later with the guarantee of provincial government aid of approximately $12
million a year over a 10-year period. Today more than 1,000 people in Cape
Breton are employed by Port Hawkesbury Paper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In addition to claiming direct losses of around
$70 million, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/resolute-sues-over-porthawkesbury-1.3385420" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4484d0;">Resolute Forest Products</span></a> is
seeking unspecified consequential damages that could ultimately mean much
higher compensation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">What’s wrong with this
lawsuit?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">At first glance, this lawsuit might appear
reasonable to some. That is, until one considers two important points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">First, the original argument for including
an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism in NAFTA was to prevent
governments from discriminating against foreign corporations in favour of local
businesses. There is a loophole in NAFTA, however, which allows Canadian
corporations to register in the United States and then claim they are
American for the purpose of suing Canada. This can be done <a href="http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2014/04/still-not-loving-isds-10-reasons-oppose-investors-super-rights-eu-trade" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4484d0;">as a mail box company in the state
of Delaware</span></a>, for instance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolute_Forest_Products" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4484d0;">Resolute Forest Products’ head office</span></a> is
in Montreal and, according to the company’s website, the “vast majority” of the
forests where it harvests trees are in Canada. Doesn’t this suggest that
Resolute—like Calgary-based Lone Pine Resources, which is currently <a href="http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/topics-domaines/disp-diff/lone.aspx?lang=eng" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4484d0;">suing Canada for $118.9</span></a> million
USD as a result of Quebec’s decision to ban fracking in the interest of
protecting the natural environment—is really a Canadian company in
American disguise? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Secondly, the Resolute Forest Products lawsuit could
be a ‘back door’ challenge to the whole idea of subsidies. This is a new,
and very significant, twist because trade agreements generally don’t attempt to
eliminate government’s right to use subsidies to stimulate local economies.
Even wildly pro-free trade governments haven’t argued for that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">For example, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade
Agreement (CETA) did not in any way address the huge subsidies European
countries give to their fishing industries. This is why Newfoundland and
Labrador’s acquiescence to the elimination of the its minimum
processing requirements (MPRs) that former governments had designed to protect
local communities and local workers was very shortsighted, even with the $280
million MPR federal compensation fund. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What the Resolute Forest Products lawsuit
suggests is that we now have very limited options when it comes to leveling the
very uneven playing field that exists in the international fisheries. We can
apparently forget the concept of provincial subsidies or bailouts to help local
producers and local jobs, as they can be challenged by industry players in
other provinces who happen to have European affiliates or have registered in
the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Resolute Forest Product lawsuit shows how
trade agreements can generate far-reaching consequences that governments never
anticipated. Canada, in particular, has not been very smart in its pursuit of
trade agreements. Just our NAFTA lawsuits alone have gained us the dubious
distinction of being the most sued developed country in the world. The United
States, by contrast, has yet to lose a NAFTA lawsuit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">You can find information about the other two lawsuits at<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/14/new-nafta-lawsuits-reveal-disturbing-dangerous-trend/">http://theindependent.ca/2016/01/14/new-nafta-lawsuits-reveal-disturbing-dangerous-trend/</a></span>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-61663800932250434172015-11-17T13:37:00.001-08:002015-11-17T13:38:07.883-08:00Great video on free trade deals (like CETA and the TPP)<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "tahoma" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"The video - narrated from the perspective of business supporter of free trade agreements - highlights that trade and investment agreements increase corporate power, erode state sovereignty, weaken democratic authority and are central to the neoliberal framework of privatization and deregulation. It also notes the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provision that affords foreign corporations the right to sue for compensate when public services are expanded or when privatization is reversed." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "tahoma" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "tahoma" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Read more about the Council of Canadians and Common Frontier video <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/watch-free-trade-101-whiteboard-animation-video" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "tahoma" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NvdhZ04ElmY" width="560"></iframe>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-12195229328881936662015-09-24T16:28:00.001-07:002015-09-24T16:28:21.945-07:00Citizens Against CETA to Participate in Days of Action Against CETA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EYV-qtxLCy8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EYV-qtxLCy8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We teamed up with the S<a href="http://stjohnscoc.weebly.com/" target="_blank">t. John's chapter of the Council of Canadians </a>to make this video to<span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;"> bring CETA -- and the considerable European grassroots opposition to it (2.7 million and counting petition signatures) -- back to the limelight in an election race that's mostly ignored the issue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;">Citizens Against CETA is joining with other local groups and activists across the country in days of action against CETA. </span><b style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;">Sept 25 and 26</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;"> take action to spread awareness about the downsides to CETA (i.e., weakening environmental policies, making it easier for corporations to sue governments for loss of profits, allowing the privatization of public services, bypassing local democracies).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;">Visit the Council of Canadians website to learn more about how to take action:</span><a href="http://canadians.org/ceta-days-action" style="background-color: white; color: #9c0606; line-height: 22px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""> http://canadians.org/ceta-days-action</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 22px;">------- Below is A selection of our article published in the Independent! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">There is near silence on what is probably the number one problem facing young people today — finding a decent job.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">According to a 2015 <a href="http://canadianlabour.ca/news/news-archive/may-job-numbers-canada-must-change-course-fight-unemployment-and-fuel-economy" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0433ff;">report</span></a> by theCanadian Labour Congress, “nearly three quarters of the jobs created in Canada over the past six years have been precarious —- part-time, temporary, or in the self-employed sector,” and upward of “a million Canadians have to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.”</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Canadian Association of University Teachers President <a href="http://www.caut.ca/issues-and-campaigns/fairness-for-contract-academic-staff/2014/10/30/take-action-today-to-support-contract-faculty" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank">Robin Vose</a> said last year that the fact that more than one third of post-secondary instructional staff are now casual labourers “is a societal problem.”</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then there’s underemployment.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A <a href="http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.ospe.on.ca/resource/resmgr/DOC_advocacy/2015_REPORT_Underemployment_.pdf" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0433ff;">2014 report</span></a> published by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers found that “only about 30 per cent of employed individuals in Ontario who held a Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering were working as engineers or engineering managers.”<span style="color: #800d00;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #800d00;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As for unemployment,<span style="color: grey;"> <span style="color: #0433ff;"><a href="http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/150616/dq150616b-eng.htm" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank">Statistics Canada reported</a> </span></span>that at the end of 2014 for every job vacancy in Canada there were five people looking for work.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Could the root causes of our increasingly dismal employment landscape have something to do with another issue our three major parties are choosing to ignore?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Free Trade and the Loss of Local Jobs</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The best example of how free trade has led to job losses comes from the automobile industry.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Back in 1965 Canada and the U.S. negotiated a free trade deal called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_Automotive_Products_Agreement" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Canada—United States Automotive Products Agreement</span></a>, a central and highly successful tenet of which was that automotive production levels be proportionally maintained in Canada. By 1980 the “Auto Pact” was responsible for the creation of 100,000 automotive jobs in Canada and at least as many more in supporting industries.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Everything changed with the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. <a href="http://canadians.org/nafta" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0433ff;">NAFTA</span></a> allowed cars produced in Mexico—where labour costs were much lower—to be sold in Canada free of import taxes or tariffs. Gone was the proviso that production levels had to be maintained in Canada. Delighted auto manufacturers began closing their Canadian plants and relocating to Mexico where they could earn bigger profits.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The massive </span><a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/09/trans-pacific-partnership-renegotiating-nafta-back-door" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank">Trans Pacific Partnership</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (TPP) currently being negotiated with Pacific Rim countries and will further pressure both Canada the U.S. to open up tariff-free markets for car imports. If North American car producers relocate as a result of the increased competition these cheaper imports will create, the economic impact would be severe. Automotive sales—almost entirely to the U.S.—are still our second biggest export, after oil.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, Canada’s automobile industry isn’t the only one that has been hit hard by tariff reduction. Unable to compete with cheap imports, a significant number of Canadian manufacturing and hi-tech companies have either shut down or relocated abroad.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Attempts to build new industries to replace those that have disappeared are proving difficult for governments. When Ontario put a feed-in tariff on wind projects that didn’t have a 25 per cent made-in-Ontario component, the WTO <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-wto-appeal-over-ontario-s-green-energy-program-1.1333131" style="color: #4484d0;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0433ff;">sided with the EU and Japan</span></a> by ruling these tariffs were unfair. Government intervention in the marketplace to help stimulate job and industry growth doesn’t fit with mainstream economics’ neoliberal obsession with free trade.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Read the full article on The Independent: </span><a href="http://theindependent.ca/2015/09/24/the-missing-election-issue-free-trades-assault-on-jobs/" style="line-height: 22px;">http://theindependent.ca/2015/09/24/the-missing-election-issue-free-trades-assault-on-jobs/</a></span>Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-65885261753197759082015-06-03T07:45:00.000-07:002015-06-03T07:46:59.610-07:00CETA: Market Ideology Obscures Consequence<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.6666660308838px; line-height: 21.4666652679443px;">From a letter published in the Telegram on June 3, 2015</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
his letter to the editor on CETA, Derek Butler of the Association of Seafood
Producers asserts that the market should determine whether or not we export our
fish processed or unprocessed. He makes a comparison with our desire and expected
right as consumers to have access to fresh, unprocessed fruit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
it was European consumer demand for unprocessed fish that drove the elimination
of minimum processing requirements, he would have a valid point. But we didn’t give up minimum processing requirements
because European consumers wanted unprocessed fish. We gave it up so that powerful fishing
corporations in European countries could do the processing. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We’re not taking about a free market here with
a level playing field. Instead, it’s a
market that will unfairly disadvantage our workers in favour of theirs, thanks
to massive EU subsidies that remain untouched under CETA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For
the last couple of years the provincial government has been granting some
limited or temporary exemptions to minimum processing requirements.
As an opponent of CETA, we have no problem with these decisions. Government should have the flexibility to
react to immediate market problems in the fisheries. But CETA takes away that right. Under this trade agreement we will never
again be allowed to implement MPRs no matter how much demand there is for our
fish. That’s the real problem. CETA is an assault on our right to govern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We find it interesting that our provincial government still doesn’t get that
point. In last week’s announcement they
asserted that CETA was, aside from the MPR debacle, a good deal for the
province. The downside, be it the
straitjacketing of our regulatory capacity, the risk of offshore lawsuits,
the cost increase for drugs, the end of
the right to favour local economies, the expected increase in Canada’s trade
deficit, (and so much more) is never to be acknowledged. Our ruling politicians adhere to the
simplistic idea that trade with the EU has to be good, regardless of the terms. “The Market” apparently
always knows what’s best for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
live in an age where Ideology increasingly trumps rational analysis. To whose benefit is this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-59107490564303896152015-05-06T11:57:00.003-07:002015-05-06T11:57:26.990-07:00May 6th, 2015<br />
<br />
Here's what we had to contribute to the Newfoundland and Labrador Fracking Panel that is accepting submissions up until June 1st. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span lang="en-CA"><b>To:
Members of the NLHFRP Fracking Panel</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span lang="en-CA"><b>What
are the risks of investor-state lawsuits if we allow fracking?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA">I’m writing on
behalf of a St. John’s based group, Citizens against CETA, to
present arguments against allowing fracking to take place in
Newfoundland and Labrador. Our focus is not the potential
environmental and health effects of fracking, but rather the risk
they bring of investor-state lawsuits. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA">Investor-state
lawsuits are permissible under the auspices of trade agreements like
NAFTA and take place in independent, offshore tribunals. There are no
permanent judges in these tribunals and judgements are decided by
three lawyers, appointed each time a corporate investor chooses to
sue government. Neither is there an appeals process, which is
particularly alarming given that <a href="http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/profitingfrominjustice.pdf" target="_blank">independent studies</a> have revealed
that corporate bias and conflict of interest are inherent to these
tribunals. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA">If Newfoundland and
Labrador go ahead with fracking the ensuing legal costs for our
provinces could be very high. Here’s why:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Fracking
companies use investor-state lawsuits</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA"><span style="font-size: large;">:</span>
There is already fracking litigation under NAFTA. Lone Pine
Resources, a Canadian company with registration in the US, is suing
Canada for $250 million because of the Quebec government’s
decision to impose a temporary moratorium on fracking.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Suing
governments has become an industry in itself</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA"><span style="font-size: large;">:</span>
The <a href="http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/profitingfrominjustice.pdf" target="_blank">likelihood of a corporate lawsuit</a> is much greater than in the
past. That’s because hedge funds and other financial institutions
are increasingly offering to finance the corporate share of lawsuits
in return for a percentage (usually between 30-50%) of the
settlement or damages awarded. Mining companies are the most
frequent users of investor-state lawsuits worldwide.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Damages
awarded can be huge</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA"><span style="font-size: large;">:</span>
Increasingly, damages are based on the estimated loss of future
profits. The largest award to date is $2.3 billion against Ecuador
for cancelling the operating contract of an oil company in the
Amazon region.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Canadian
and NL laws count for nothing in these tribunals</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA">
as judgements are based on treatment according to the language in
the trade agreement(s). For example, in February of this year a
NAFTA tribunal awarded Exxon Mobil and Murphy Oil $17 million in
damages after our province tightened up requirements relating to
their research and development spending in this province. What most
people aren’t aware of is that three levels of Canadian courts had
already rejected the corporations’ argument that they were being
unfairly treated. The Canadian courts cited the oil companies’
responsibilities under the Atlantic Accord as their reason for
denying them damages. That argument counted for nothing in the
NAFTA tribunal.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Who
will pay the costs?</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA"> It is
Canada, not the provinces, that has to pay the the costs of
investor-state lawsuits because it is the federal government that is
sued, even if it is a municipal action that causes the lawsuit.
However, the federal government has served notice </span>that it
will find ways in the future to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html" target="_blank">reclaim
costs</a> and damages from the provinces.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Will
the federal government defend us against lawsuits?</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA">
They did not do so in the case of the Abitibi-Bowater dispute, in
spite of a request from the province. The result was a $123 million
settlement.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-CA"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What
will be the impact of CETA?</span></b></span><span lang="en-CA"> If
the CETA trade agreement between the European Union and Canada is
ratified, the risk of investor-state lawsuits will be made greater
as CETA’s environmental regulatory protection is weak. That will
encourage lawsuits. Over half of the investor-state lawsuits
worldwide so far have been filed by European corporations.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA">If our province
allows fracking and then tries to back out or tighten up regulations
at a future date we risk very costly lawsuits in tribunals with
dubious legal and ethical legitimacy. Where are the long term
benefits of fracking that would justify this undermining of the
Canadian judicial system and possibly cost us huge amounts in
damages?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA">Marilyn Reid</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-CA"><span style="font-size: x-small;">for</span> Citizens against CETA</span></div>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-59830188219982971742015-03-24T05:32:00.000-07:002015-03-26T14:09:25.754-07:00<span id="docs-internal-guid-2df9868e-4bc1-3dc8-c200-236b5faf5976"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The Failure of Trade Agreements & Investment Liberalization
over the last 25 years</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Ascent
of Giants</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, the 60+ page 2015 study by Jordan
Brennan, contrasts what we are told about the benefits of trade agreements and
investment liberalization with the much more negative reality reflected in
meaningful statistics. He highlights the lackluster growth, under-investment
and weak employment results of the post NAFTA period.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All of that adversely affects
ordinary Canadians, particular young workers locked into precarious employment.
Meanwhile, intense corporate merger activity since NAFTA has led to the growth
of huge firms, increased corporate investment abroad and enormous CEO salaries.
Brennan demonstrates the correlation between the above and increasing
inequality in Canada. Here is a summary of his main points.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(229, 223, 236); font-size: 16pt;">The rationale sold to us for trade agreements </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(229, 223, 236); font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">TAIL (Trade and Investment
Liberalization) </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">through trade agreements like CUFTA
(Canada-US) and NAFTA (Canada-US-Mexico) were sold to us on two grounds:
necessity and prosperity</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Canadians were told that technological
change meant that production and markets were globalizing, and should
Canada not secure predictable access to the U.S. market it would be
relegated to the periphery of the global political economy</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Economic Council of Canada
forecast a 1.8% boost in employment. The federal Department of Finance
predicted a boost to long-term economic performance, including a long-term
increase to inflation-adjusted GDP of 3%.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The explicit
assumption was that gains from TAIL would be shared with workers in the
form of higher wages</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(229, 223, 236); font-size: 16pt;">Statistics that show a reality different to the neoliberal
rationale for TAIL</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(229, 223, 236); font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">GDP:</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the quarter-century to 1988, GDP
grew at a per capita rate of 2.8%. Since then the rate has halved. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Employment:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In the quarter-century to 1988, the rate of growth of
private sector employment was 2.4%. Since then it has halved.
Although it appears that unemployment levels fell during the 2000s (after
having risen in the 1990s), when we take into account the rise of precarious
work, (contract, part time, etc.), unemployment has remained higher than in
earlier postwar decades.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Inequality:
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Income inequality rose sharply over
the last 20 years and correlates highly (.91) with the rise in corporate power.<b>
</b>At one end are the very high executive salaries, at the other end,
the low wages associated with precarious employment. Good paying jobs are
disappearing for most new workers. (In the last decade 520,000
manufacturing jobs alone have been lost.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Trade:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In 1988, Canadian exports amounted to 26% of GDP. By
2012 Canadian exports were only 30% of GDP, down from 44% in 2000. (A
probable reason for the growth of exports in the 1990s was the low value of the
Canadian dollar.) The two largest exports by far to the United States are oil
and automobiles. In the case of oil it is demand that drives exports, not
lower tariffs through NAFTA. The Canada-US Auto Pact explains why
automobile exports to the U.S. are high.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(234, 241, 221); font-size: 14.5pt;">How do we explain the disjuncture between the omnipresent
cheer-leading for “free trade” by the Canadian intellectual class and the
negative investment, employment and growth performance in the TAIL era? If
trade flows are falling, investment has lessened, employment growth has
worsened and GDP growth has slowed, why the unrestrained euphoria for more
“free trade” agreements like CETA?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 16pt;">Control of the NAFTA message by dominant, very
large corporations</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Commentary
on the 25th anniversary of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) and the
20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has tended
to proceed in three steps.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The commentator begins by trumpeting the
virtues of the agreements, loudly proclaiming that its advocates were wise
to counsel such a shift in policy.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Commentary proceeds to deride those who
raised questions about the deal or who opposed it, declaring (by fiat)
that “the debate is over,” usually without providing sufficient evidence
to substantiate the assertion. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The commentator often concludes by trotting
out a few exhausting clichés about the glorious future Canadians can
expect courtesy of the “free trade” agreements currently under
negotiation.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="background-color: #e5dfec; font-size: 16pt;">2</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span>Th</span></span></span></b><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 16pt;">e failure of
our intellectual class to challenge the corporate message</span></b><b style="background-color: #e5dfec;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Canadian intellectual class has failed
to engage in a debate about the merits and demerits of the TAIL regime.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Contemporary
economic thinking seriously constrains the range of permissible questions
and the content of acceptable answers. In particular, economists
don’t want to look at the reality of power, preferring to talk about the
ideal of free markets and level playing fields.. Political
Scientists, on the other hand, ignore markets. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(234, 241, 221); font-size: 16pt;">Why have TAIL and Trade Agreements not led to increased GDP
and employment?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">Corporations have failed to invest in
fixed assets in this country.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In the quarter-century to 1988, the rate of
growth of business investment in fixed assets, a key driver of GDP and
employment growth, averaged 4.8%. That has been halved since 1988.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">Large corporations have chosen,
instead, the Mergers and Acquisitions route.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In the three-quarters of a century from
1914–1988, for every dollar spent on building new industrial capacity an
average of 23 cents was spent on M&A. In the quarter-century since
1988, for every dollar spent on expanding industrial capacity an average
of 93 cents was spent on M&A — a four-fold increase.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The four fold Increase in mergers and
acquisitions under TAIL is a phenomenon of big business. Small and
medium size corporations don’t engage in M&As.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">There is a logical progression to this
acquisition process. Large firms first merge in their industries,
which means less corporations supplying a broader sector. Next is
the formation of multi-unit, vertically-integrated, nationally-embedded
firms. In the final stage large corporations seek acquisition targets in
other countries. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">Large corporations are increasingly
hoarding their money.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Instead of investing in fixed
assets, corporations now hoard in preparation for mergers and
acquisitions. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Between the early 1960s and the
early 1990s the stockpile of corporate cash averaged 4% of assets but this
nearly tripled (to 11%) between 1990 and 2012.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">Large Canadian corporations are
choosing to invest abroad rather than in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In the quarter-century to 1988 the
stock of Canadian direct investment abroad (CDIA) averaged 8% of GDP. In
the quarter century since 1988 the stock of CDIA peaked at 40% of GDP in
2009. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Put another way, in 1960 the profit
of Canadian corporations was almost entirely domestic in origin, with
foreign profits representing just 5% of total profit. A long-term rise in
foreign operations followed, with foreign profit reaching a high of 47% of
total profit in 2010.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(229, 184, 183); font-size: 20.5pt;">The Winners and the Losers under TAIL</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The
Growth of Dominant Firms, increasingly internationalist in scope</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">There is now an enormous
concentration of corporate profits and wealth among the large firms.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In 1950 the largest 60 firms in our
country accounted for 29% of total corporate profit, which was little
changed in 1993 (30%) on the eve of the NAFTA. By 2011 it was 58%.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In the early 1960s the largest 60
firms held 27% of total corporate assets, rising to only 30% in the early
1990s. But by 2010 the largest 60 firms controlled 46% of all corporate
assets.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">There are 1.5 million registered
corporations in Canada. The 60 largest firms account for roughly 60% of
all corporate profit in Canada</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Increasing Inequality</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Over the past century there has been
an extraordinarily high (.91) correlation between concentration of
corporate power and income inequality. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">For example: Increased market power
among large firms is closely associated with the national redistribution
of income between capital and labour — owners at the expense of workers.
There also appears to be a positive relationship between surging executive
salaries and income inequality, on the one hand, and corporate
concentration on the other.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The increase in foreign investment
by the dominant corporations has meant that fewer corporate resources are
employed for hiring Canadian workers. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The emphasis on corporate
flexibility has led to an increase in precarious employment, the weakening
of unions and minimal wage gains.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Another reason for increasing
inequality is that the restriction of competition leads to an increase in
price, thus undermining the tendency towards equality.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">Alternative Strategies</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jordan Brennan believes that an alternative set of state policies
could change this set of outcomes. A trade and investment regime that actually
promoted domestic investment and Canadian exports (like the Auto Pact) and that
fostered inclusive, wage-led growth (which typically arises when the trade
union movement is nurtured and strong) would alter the distribution of income,
wealth and power.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<b><span style="background: rgb(229, 184, 183); font-size: 16pt;">Our Conclusions at Citizens against CETA</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Dominant
corporations will continue to show little interest in investing in
the manufacturing sector in Canada as long as they can use mergers
and buy-outs to dominate the market and reduce competition. </span>This
is being accomplished with the full blessing of the current federal
government, who have deliberately made it easier for global
corporations to takeover Canadian businesses by raising the threshold
from $344 million to $1.5 billion<sup>9</sup>
before any foreign transaction is reviewed. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;">Our dominant Cana<span style="font-family: inherit;">dian corporations
have become internationalists. They prefer to invest where they can
get the greatest return and that’s not Canada. That’s bad news
for Canadian productivity and is accelerating our over reliance on
the export of base commodities rather than value added products.
It’s, bad news for our young people who still believe that getting
a good education will get them </span>a good job. Finally, it’s bad news
for government revenues given the rampant use of tax havens by
dominant corporations.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;">Our
dominant Canadian corporations control the major political parties
and the political agenda. That’s evident in the enthusiastic,
uncritical acceptance of trade agreements like CETA by the federal
Conservatives, Liberals and NDP. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;">Our
dominant Canadian corporations control the mainstream media. That
allows them to control the message we receive, through repetitive
clichés about future benefits that just never seem to arrive. This
is particularly true in television and radio. Gone are the balanced
debates about public policy we saw and heard in the past. One liners
and quotes increasingly dominate. Were it not for the phone in talk
shows and the Letters to the Editor that some newspapers still
encourage, the public would suspect nothing about the dramatic
negative impact that neoliberal globalization is going to have on
our children and grandchildren. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;">Our
dominant corporations increasingly control what gets talked about in
our education systems – and what doesn’t get talked about.
Courses that provide opportunities to discuss the huge economic,
political and societal changes at the heart of globalization have
disappeared from the high school curriculum in some provinces. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;">Our
publicly funded universities have acquiesced, through their silence,
to the uncritical promotion of TAIL by corporate think tanks. Does
this disinclination on the part of the intellectual class to analyze
the impact of the last 25 years of neoliberalism reflect the
increasing corporate influence in our universities? </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;">The
Harper government’s is straitjacketing public policy criticism by
NGOs through Revenue Canada’s new rules on what charitable
organizations are allowed to talk about. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>Who
is left to speak out for the public good and democracy?</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
</div>
</div>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-75262813179077164342015-02-11T09:33:00.000-08:002015-03-23T09:31:11.532-07:00What Government doesn't want you to know about ISDS<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>What government doesn't want you to know about ISDS</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In, 2013, an offshore investor-state
dispute settlement (ISDS) tribunal ordered Libya to pay <a href="http://www.iisd.org/itn/2014/01/19/awards-and-decisions-14/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">U.S. $935 million</span></a> to
corporate investors for “lost profits” from “real and certain lost
opportunities” on a cancelled tourism project, even though the corporate
investors had only invested $5 million in the project and construction had not
started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Canadians should take note of this
outrageous decision. According to the latest figures on ISDS claims from the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Canada is now the <a href="http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaepcb2013d3_en.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">most sued developed country in the
world</span></a>. This dubious distinction is entirely due to ISDS corporate
lawsuits under NAFTA. Imagine how this will accelerate once we’ve concluded
CETA, the TTP and TISA, three other trade agreements our federal government is
determined to sign and ratify.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What’s
wrong with ISDS?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The original justification for
holding ISDS lawsuits in off-shore tribunals was to protect transnational
corporations from unfair expropriation or nationalization of their assets by governments
which might have a corrupt court systems. By this criterion there was no good
reason to include ISDS clauses in CETA, given the integrity of the judicial
systems in Canada and Europe. Yet they were included.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As for the risk of nationalization, the
interpretation of expropriation has now evolved to include the “indirect
expropriation” of corporate assets, including corporate profits. Damages, as
Libya found out, now take into consideration not just immediate restrictions on
profits, but also lost opportunities for future profits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s a sample of what recent ISDS
lawsuits against Canada have looked like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eli Lilly is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/eli-lilly-files-500m-nafta-suit-against-canada-over-drug-patents-1.1829854" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">suing the Canadian government for
$500 million under NAFTA</span></a> for invalidating its patent for
Strattera and another drug after a federal court found the company had
failed to demonstrate the drugs would deliver the benefits promised in the
patent application. Strattera had only been tested in a short 7-week long
study involving 22 patients.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Exxon Mobil and Murphy Oil <a href="http://www.canadians.org/node/4459" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">won their NAFTA lawsuit against research and
development regulations</span></a> put in place after the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador determined the companies were not living up
to their commitment under the Atlantic Accord. Three levels of Canadian
courts had previously rejected arguments that the companies were being
unfairly treated. Damages have not yet been revealed.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/publications/profiting-from-injustice.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Profiting from Injustice</span></a></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, a comprehensive report by Corporate Europe Observatory,
reveals the corporate bias that exists in the off22shore tribunals that judge
cases like these. That includes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">National Rule of Law counts for
nothing: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Democracy and constitutional law
have no place in these offshore tribunals. Instead, decisions are based on the
interpretation of the legal language in the trade agreements (and sometimes
even other trade agreements). There is no Appeals Court if a country objects to
the judgment rendered. Furthermore, only companies can sue governments. Abusive
corporations cannot be sued, for example, when they violate human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The illusion of neutrality: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Investor-state disputes are usually decided by a tribunal of
three arbitrators. Unlike judges, they do not have a flat salary but are
instead paid per case. This creates a strong incentive to side with
corporations, because investor-friendly rulings set precedents that pave the
way for more cases and more income for the very small, elite group of
arbitrators that service the ISDS industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Profiting through speculation: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Suing governments in offshore tribunals has turned into a
money-making industry with investment funds lining up to help corporations fund
Investor-state disputes in exchange for a share (typically between 20-50 per
cent) in any granted award or settlement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The revolving door syndrome: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The small, elite group of arbitrators and lawyers in the
ISDS process move effortlessly from defending corporations to defending
governments and back again. This revolving door allows them to aggressively promote
investment arbitration in trade agreements as a necessary condition for the
attraction of foreign investment. Ignored is the research suggesting that<a href="http://justinvestment.org/2014/02/transatlantic-statement-opposing-excessive-corporate-rights-investor-state-dispute-settlement-in-the-eu-canada-comprehensive-economic-and-trade-agreement-ceta/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"> trade agreements are not a decisive
factor in whether investors go abroad</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The number of ISDS disputes
worldwide has exploded, from just 38 in 1996 to 568 by the end of 2013. Equally
worrying is that the growth in damages has been both exponential and dramatic.
The most noteworthy victim to date is tiny Ecuador. Ecuadoreans have been <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21623756-governments-are-souring-treaties-protect-foreign-investors-arbitration" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">ordered to pay $2.3 billion</span></a>
after losing an ISDS lawsuit filed by Occidental Petroleum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Internationally, <a href="http://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/trading-away-democracy.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">over half of the ISDS lawsuits have
been instigated by European corporations</span></a>. CETA is their ISDS entry
into Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ISDS
lawsuits against Newfoundland and Labrador: Who will pay? Who will defend?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ISDS lawsuits are directed against
the federal government and must be defended by the federal government, even if
it’s a municipal or provincial action or decision that a corporation might be
objecting to. That means that technically, it’s the Canadian government that’s
on the hook for payment of costs and damages. However, all that is going to
change. The federal government has served notice that it will find ways in the
future to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">reclaim costs and damages</span></a>
from the provinces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unfortunately, there is no guarantee
that the federal government will adequately defend lawsuits against provincial
interests. For example, they chose not to defend against <a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/130-million-nafta-payout-sets-troubling-precedent" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Abitibi-Bowater’s dispute with our
province</span></a> in spite of urgings from multiple groups. The result was an
out of court settlement of $130 million, which sets a troubling precedent that
undermines public ownership and control of natural resources on crown land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
sectors of our provincial economy are most vulnerable to lawsuits?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anybody thinking that our province
is fully protected in CETA against ISDS lawsuits is in denial about the
all-pervasive scope of this kind of litigation. ISDS lawsuits have been used to
challenge government attempts to <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/campact-concerned-ceta-will-make-rosia-montana-isds-challenges-commonplace" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">raise minimum wages</span></a>, <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2014/130710/LDM_BRI%282014%29130710_REV2_EN.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">introduce buy-local policies</span></a>,
<a href="http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2014/04/still-not-loving-isds-10-reasons-oppose-investors-super-rights-eu-trade" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">reduce subsidies</span></a>, <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/campact-concerned-ceta-will-make-rosia-montana-isds-challenges-commonplace" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">reject new open pit mining proposals</span></a>,
<a href="http://canadians.org/blog/campact-concerned-ceta-will-make-rosia-montana-isds-challenges-commonplace" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">protect water, health or the
environment</span></a>, <a href="http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2012/11/profiting-injustice" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">initiate or modify regulations to gas,
nuclear energy, telecommunications, marketing and tax measures</span></a>,
restructure debt to address impending financial collapse, and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our economy is largely dependent on
resource extraction. Oil and mining companies are the <a href="http://canadians.org/blog/new-report-outlines-threat-ceta%E2%80%99s-corporate-rights-protections" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">most frequent users of ISDS worldwide</span></a>,
so it would be complacent to think there is little possibility of lawsuits
here. One obvious example is fracking. If our government decides to permit
fracking and then reconsiders policy, NAFTA will allow corporate challenges in
the manner of the $250 million Lone Pine Resources lawsuit following the Quebec
moratorium. CETA will open that up to European corporations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the other hand, if the province
defied CETA and continued with minimum processing requirements, I don’t think
European processing plants would be easily able to use ISDS lawsuits. That’s
because, as far as is known, they are not investors in the Canadian economy.
The EU would have to find other ways of punishing us, probably through tariffs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does that mean our Canadian-owned fishing
sector is protected against ISDS lawsuits? Doubtful, given that the nationality
of corporate investors is often not clear. Do we really know how much foreign
ownership exists in our fisheries, particularly in the offshore sector? Could
minority foreign owners of boats claim to be investors in the Canadian economy,
and therefore, mount challenges? What about our aquaculture industry? What’s
the capacity for foreign investment there? Once foreign investors gain a
foothold in our fisheries, CETA will allow them to sue in all sorts of ways
that they can’t at the moment. Given the strong neoliberal bias of the federal
government towards deregulation, one has to wonder what kind of defense would
be mounted to protect the livelihood of our harvesters and local communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then there is Muskrat Falls. Big
contracts have been signed. Government has entered into public-private
partnerships. Are we aware who all the corporate investors are? To what extent
could investors use subsidiaries under NAFTA or CETA to pursue lawsuits against
future government decisions? Has government even considered the ISDS risks
there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why
and how ISDS got put into CETA<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ISDS fulfills three central
purposes. First, it allows transnational corporations to sue governments for
increasingly huge amounts of money in biased, corporate-friendly offshore
tribunals where governments can’t use arguments of accountability to the
public. Secondly, ISDS, in bypassing national court systems, renders a huge
blow to the judicial independence that is fundamental to our democracy. And
finally, ISDS effectively straitjackets and undermines regulatory flexibility.
The effect on new legislation is chilling, as everything begins to be looked at
through the prism of potential lawsuits. The result of all of this is that ISDS
facilitates gains in transnational corporate power that are going to be, in the
long term, enormous. So too will be the losses to national sovereignty and
democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Transnational corporations
themselves cannot put ISDS sections into trade agreements between countries —
so who does? In the case of CETA, the answer is clearly Prime Minister Harper
and his government. It was the Harper government that pushed for ISDS to be
included in CETA right from the start. It’s time to face the unpleasant
probability that our side may be playing for the other team — not the EU team,
but the transnational corporate team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Can
CETA be stopped?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our province’s recent stance in
pulling out of CETA over the dispute about the compensatory $280 million
fisheries fund can’t stop the trade agreement going through. However, it has
raised public awareness. There’s even a <a href="http://action.sumofus.org/a/ceta-nl/?sub=homepage" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">‘Thank Newfoundland and Labrador’ petition</span></a> on
the go with more than 33,000 signatures on it so far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Has the ensuing publicity caused
politicians to take a closer look at CETA itself? Unfortunately, no. Across
Canada, aside from at the municipal level, there’s still little political
opposition to the trade agreement (NDP Lorraine Michael has been the notable
exception here). One has to wonder how it is politicians in all three major
parties have let themselves either be cajoled or whipped into ignoring the
different ways CETA is an assault on our democratic and judicial decision
making. Their collective silence is alarming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If CETA is to be stopped, it could
be the Europeans who do it. In the space of a couple months in late 2014 more
than <a href="http://www.dw.de/anti-ttip-petition-draws-one-million-signatures/a-18110717"><span style="color: blue;">a million Europeans</span></a> signed a petition opposing
the ISDS sections of CETA and the TTIP deal. Last month <a href="http://www.canadians.org/blog/germany-and-france-want-reopen-ceta-amend-isds-provision"><span style="color: blue;">France and Germany</span></a> made a joint announcement they
wanted to reopen and amend the ISDS section of CETA. And Syriza,
Greece’s newly elected government, has already stated it will not sign on
to CETA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We may yet be rescued from this deal
by the Europeans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-70073881044711398312015-01-23T09:03:00.000-08:002015-01-23T09:03:48.458-08:00CETA: Much Theatre … Little Debate<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Published in the Telegram, January 23, 2015</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Those of us who oppose the CETA trade agreement between the EU and
Canada are grateful that CETA is finally making front page headlines, even if
it is for the wrong reasons. If you listen carefully to the words of Ministers
Hutchings and King, nowhere do they actually express any doubts about CETA
itself. It’s their perceived betrayal by Ottawa over the fisheries development
fund that fuels their indignation.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 1.45pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 1.45pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I don’t doubt that our province was misled by the federal
government. But have they considered they've been misled in other ways about
CETA? <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0By2yKQrM9LaNVFl6RjNCaWR2R2c/edit?pli=1">Independent
research</a> has indicated that CETA will lead to a decline in GDP, exports and
jobs, particularly in the manufacturing and processing sectors. But far more
alarming than that is the twisty legal language in CETA that will allow
transnational corporations to sue us in special, offshore, investor-state
tribunals (where Canadian law counts for nothing) if government initiatives
risk interfering with future corporate profits. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We shouldn’t underestimate the scope and size of lawsuit payouts.
In, 2013, an off-shore investor-state tribunal ordered Libya to pay <a href="http://www.iisd.org/itn/2014/01/19/awards-and-decisions-14/">US$935</a>
million to corporate investors for “lost profits” from “real and certain lost
opportunities” on a canceled tourism project – even though the corporate
investors had only invested $5 million in the project and construction had
never even started. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Could that kind of injustice happen to us under CETA? Our province
has already been the subject of two NAFTA investor-state lawsuits compliments
of Abitibi-Bowater and Exxon-Mobil. We are especially vulnerable, <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21623756-governments-are-souring-treaties-protect-foreign-investors-arbitration">given
that oil and mining companies are the most frequent users of anti-government
lawsuits</a> worldwide. Then there is the fact that o<a href="http://www.canadians.org/media/canada-eu-deal-could-unleash-corporate-litigation-boom">ver
half of the investor-state lawsuits worldwide have been instigated by European
corporations</a>. CETA is going to give these corporations access to us.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Given that the federal government has stated that in future they
will claw back costs and damages from provinces that incur lawsuits, you would
think our government would be worried about being sued under CETA. And what
about the chilling effect that the mere fear of lawsuits will have on future
government initiatives to protect the environment or local economies? Have they
considered that?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To be fair, other provincial legislatures are guilty of similar
complacency about CETA's impact on democratic decision making. However, our government
is now in the unique position of having experienced firsthand how underhanded
the Harper government can be in promoting the benefits of CETA. They could take
the high road and use this realization as an opportunity to open up the whole
CETA can of worms to public debate. They could challenge other provinces to
re-examine the extent to which CETA will allow huge corporations to undermine
their ability to govern. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That would be splendid leadership.
But will they do that? Or will they simply focus on their grievance with the
federal government over the fisheries investment fund? What’s it going to be?
Continued theater of the David vs. Goliath style – or genuine debate,
discussion and consultation about the main event with us, the people who elected
them? </span></div>
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Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-59693989820174302582014-12-28T07:47:00.001-08:002014-12-28T07:47:40.569-08:00There's more than one booby trap in CETA-land<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Published in The Telegram, Dec. 27th, 2014</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the past
two years, local groups like Citizens against CETA and the Council of Canadians
have been sending letters to politicians informing them of the many different traps
buried in both the CETA treaty and the negotiating process. Most MHAs have
ignored our warnings. They preferred to believe that everything was perfect in
CETA-Land.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now we have
this huge misunderstanding between the federal and provincial governments over
the $280 million federal fund linked to our giving up minimum processing
requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That appears to be bad
news. On the other hand, this drama has finally put CETA on people’s radar.
Let’s consider what else might be open to misinterpretation in this trade
agreement.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are
two issues with respect to the legal language of the treaty that raise alarm
bells. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First, are
we really sure that both the federal and provincial language in the agreement can
protect our traditional rights over the fishery? Licencing restrictions have,
up until now<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prevented foreign corporations
that care nothing about the welfare of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from
controlling our fisheries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could CETA’s wording be sufficiently wobbly to
allow legal challenges to that intent? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s not a
frivolous question. Since NAFTA there have been around 600 corporate lawsuits worldwide
mounted against governments in multilateral and bilateral trade agreements.
Presumably, all of these governments thought that they were adequately
protecting their interests when they wrote their agreements. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then there
is the question of whether or not the federal government would even bother to
defend Newfoundland and Labrador’s interests if there was a legal challenge. Let’s
not forget that, in spite of requests from the Williams government, the Harper government
refused to defend our position in the NAFTA lawsuit by Abitibi-Bowater. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They settled out of court.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Corporate
lawsuits are the booby-traps at the heart of CETA and they are booby-traps that
have the potential to cause us enormous financial damage. To date, a $2.3 billion
judgement against Ecuador in its dispute with Occidental Petroleum <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is the highest known damages awarded. Suing
governments has become a very lucrative business.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">However there’s something at work here even more insidious than the
financial costs.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When governments start looking
at all new legislation through the prism of whether it might possibly provoke
a lawsuit, democracy suffers. </span><span style="color: #312005; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"I've
seen the letters from the New York and DC law firms coming up to the Canadian
government on virtually every new environmental regulation and proposition in
the last five years. ...... <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Virtually
all of the new initiatives were targeted and most of them never saw the light
of day." </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Colaborate-Thin; mso-fareast-font-family: Colaborate-Thin;">So said one
former Canadian official about the mere threat of NAFTA lawsuits</span><span style="color: #312005; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: cassiaregular; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(quoted in an article by William Greider for The Nation)</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The use of
lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits is a subversive assault on the right of
governments to make decisions in the interest of the public or the environment.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And because CETA is so much more
accommodating to corporate interests than NAFTA ever was, that menace will threaten
different levels of government right down to the level of school boards all
across the country. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Lawsuits by
transnational governments also strike a huge blow to that other branch of
government, our court system. How? If they are investors in the Canadian
economy, foreign corporations can choose to bypass the Canadian court system
and pursue their grievance with government in offshore tribunals where Canadian
law counts for nothing. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take the example of Exxon-Mobil and Murphy Oil.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2012, they won their offshore NAFta lawsuit
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">against new research and development
regulations put in place by Newfoundland and Labrador after our government
determined the companies were not living up to their commitment under the
Atlantic Accord. Three levels of Canadian courts had previously rejected
arguments that the companies were being unfairly treated. The offshore tribunal
came to a different conclusion. Damages have not yet been assigned but the
corporations were asking for $65 million. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Canadian
government will pay those damages, just as they paid the $122 million in the
Abitibi-Bowater dispute. However, the federal government has made it clear that
in future they will find ways to reclaim these costs from the provinces.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Think about all
this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">First:, we will
soon be bound by a trade agreement which, according to independent research
studies, will actually lead to a decrease in Canadian GDP and will cause job
losses, particularly in the secondary or processing sector.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet we’re told it’s a fantastic deal.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Second, CETA
is a huge contract which will act as a kind of supranational constitution
overriding our own. Future governments will only be able to initiate new laws
and regulations if they do not conflict with what has been written down in
CETA. Anything governments have failed to adequately protect in writing will be
susceptible to lawsuits if they try to make changes that interfere with
corporate profits.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Third, these
lawsuits will take place in offshore tribunals that are themselves riddled with
corporate bias. There is no Appeals Court if a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>government doesn’t like the decision.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anybody who believes that the very limited
economic benefits that CETA will bring to our province justifies all of the
above is apparently oblivious to what has been going on in the rest of the
world. Trade agreements have allowed transnational corporations to strait
jacket the democratic will of people and block protection of jobs and the
environment in all sorts of unexpected ways. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Third World countries were the first and the
hardest hit. Now that so many of them are squeezed dry it’s our turn. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Prime
Minister Harper has been the ideal leader to inflict that squeeze on us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t be surprised if, once the damage is done,
he and his obedient followers in parliament simply walk off into the sunset,
into well paid board rooms positions in the big corporations of the world. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Am I that
cynical about our provincial politicians? No, but I do wonder about their
ability, when it comes to important decision making, to think outside a narrow
neoliberal interpretation of how the world works. Of the three political
parties elected in this province, to my knowledge, only the NDP has endeavored
to alert the public to the underbelly of CETA. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.4pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now that
Premier Davis has suggested that the province might withdraw its support for
CETA</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I have no
doubt that the corporate lobbyists and Harper appointees are all out in full
force. They’ll be using a variety of tactics to get the government back on
board with CETA. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let’s hope
that government doesn’t make the same mistake as before and rush into a
decision without a thorough analysis and discussion of what’s at stake with
CETA. So, here’s a suggestion, Premier Davis. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about appointing an all-party committee to
set up public hearings across the province?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Explore the pros and cons of CETA with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t shut us out of the decision making
again.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> </span></span></div>
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Citizens Against CETAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05880804958729993058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935695574179201258.post-69095142001396111112014-12-18T08:24:00.002-08:002014-12-18T08:26:01.210-08:00Citizens Against CETA interviewed on the Fisheries BroadcastListen to Marilyn Reid's interview on the CBC Fisheries Broadcast (starts at 13:30) (aired December 15th, 2014).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/nlfisheries_20141215_18803.mp3">http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/nlfisheries_20141215_18803.mp3</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com