04) NEXT ROUND: CANADA-EU TRADE DEAL?

(The following article is from the October 16-31, 2008, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People's Voice Editorial, Oct. 16-31, 2008

Once again, Canada is being dragged into a far-reaching agreement that threatens our economic sovereignty, without any hint of public consultation.

     The Council of Canadians reports that "The Canada-European trade deal, described as groundbreaking by Quebec premier Jean Charest and as `deep economic integration' by a senior EU official, is said to favour full access by European Union countries to billions of dollars of Canadian government procurement budgets and include areas of provincial jurisdictional responsibility. Investment, services and energy issues have been cited as part of the deal, raising questions of whether it will include the controversial NAFTA dispute-settlement mechanism and proportional-sharing provisions."

     According to a poll conducted by Strategic Communications, 77 percent of Canadians wanted the draft text of this deal made public before the October 14 election. But Stephen Harper has not released the draft text and internal study of the deal, which will be the focus of talks in Montreal just three days after the election.

     This deceptive strategy is nothing new for the Tories, who know that in the wake of NAFTA, Canadians have very serious doubts about the value of pro-corporate economic agreements. The majority of Canadians want to re-negotiate the NAFTA deal, which appears to be the model for negotiations towards an EU-Canada trade deal. If NAFTA is any indication, such a deal will create a more favourable environment for big capital, but at the expense of jobs, the environment, social programs, public services, and Canadian sovereignty. No federal government has any mandate to pursue such a deal, especially after an election in which the entire issue was covered up. The veil of secrecy around these negotiations must be torn aside immediately by an upsurge of public anger.