CHINA: TAKE ACTION: STOP this trade agreement

[Oscar]

Stop the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks!

[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

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Trudeau makes concessions to secure a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement

[ http://canadians.org/blog/trudeau-makes ... -agreement ]

March 29, 2017 - 10:07 pm

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to be making concessions demanded by the Chinese government in relation to the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks.

Among the Chinese government's demands:

• China's Vice-Minister of Financial and Economic Affairs Han Jun has said his government wants a tar sands pipeline to the coast.
• Vice-Minister Han and China's Ambassador to Canada Lu Shaye have both stated that China wants unfettered access for Chinese state-owned firms to invest in tar sands projects.
• Ambassador Lu has also stated that Canada invoking national security to block state-owned companies from buying Canadian companies would be seen as trade protectionism.
• Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wants an extradition treaty so that people accused of crimes who flee to Canada can be extradited back to China.

In turn, the Trudeau government:

• has approved the 890,000 barrel per day Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline to the British Columbia coast with export capacity to China.
• is reviewing and expected to ease the restrictions on Chinese state-owned enterprise investments in tar sands operations.
• has just approved O-Net (which is more than 25 per cent owned by a Chinese state-owned corporation) purchasing a Montreal high-tech firm that develops fibre-laser technology applicable for weapons.
• is now negotiating an extradition treaty with China (despite their use of torture and the death penalty).

The Trudeau government also recently approved the purchase of a chain of twenty-four seniors care facilities in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec by Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group despite its murky ownership structure, civil society concerns, and the limits this places on new regulations to protect vulnerable seniors, ensure quality care, and maintain adequate staffing levels.

On September 22, 2016, Trudeau and Li announced that exploratory talks toward a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement would be launched. Those talks began on February 20 in Beijing. Four weeks later, on March 10, the Trudeau government began an online consultation seeking public input into a potential deal. The next round of Canada-China FTA talks will take place in Canada in April.

The Council of Canadians argues that a free-trade agreement would be bad for both the people of Canada and China.

An expansion of the tar sands and a pipeline to the coast violates Indigenous rights, worsens the climate crisis for all, and puts further pressure on finite water resources.

We share the concerns expressed by the Hupacasath First Nation when they challenged the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPA) given its investor-state dispute settlement provision could be used to override Indigenous rights and is an infringement of their inherent Aboriginal Title and Rights.

We also have concerns about the implications of a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement with respect to increased Chinese mining operations in Canada and on First Nation territories, land grabs (as have been seen in Africa and other parts of the world, given China consumes about 20 per cent of the world's food supplies, but has just 9 per cent of the world's farmland), and the possibility of bottled water exports (various Canadian companies have already had bottled water exports to China in their business plans, Nestle has existing operations in China, China is now bottling water in Tibet, and sales of bottled water in China were expected to reach $16 billion this year).

Studies also show that 'free trade' deals like the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) cost jobs and worsen income inequality.

Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, has commented in The Globe and Mail, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."

To tell Prime Minister Trudeau to stop the current Canada-China FTA talks and to hold meaningful consultations with the broader public and First Nations about the implications of such an agreement, please see this online action alert:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

As Canada-China FTA talks resume this month, poll shows 88 per cent uncomfortable with deal

[ http://canadians.org/blog/canada-china- ... table-deal ]

April 11, 2017 - 9:48 am

The Trudeau government is having a hard time selling the proposed Canada-China Free Trade Agreement to the public.

The Globe and Mail reports, "A Nanos Research survey of 1,000 Canadians, conducted April 1-4, found 88 per cent are uncomfortable or somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect of a free-trade deal that would allow Chinese state-owned corporations to buy high-tech Canadian firms and lift restrictions barring these enterprises from investing in Alberta’s oil sands. [But] China’s new envoy to Canada has said any bilateral deal must remove restrictions on state-owned enterprises investing in the oil sands and give them open access to the Canadian economy without national-security screening."

The article adds, "Ambassador Lu Shaye [says] last month that 'democracy or human rights' had no place in the trade talks." There again the poll found that 66 per cent of those surveyed believe Canada should link human rights to the free trade talks.

Exploratory talks toward a Canada-China FTA began on February 20 in Beijing and a second round is set to take place this month.

The Globe and Mail has also reported, "China wants to forge a historic free-trade deal with Canada, but a senior Chinese official said this will require Canadian concessions on investment restrictions [notably in the oil and gas sector] and a commitment to build an energy pipeline to the coast."

In September 2016, CTV reported, "[Former Conservative prime minister Brian] Mulroney says that growing trade between Canada and China depends on Trudeau approving the Energy East Pipeline. Mulroney [says] Trudeau 'could have a nation building exercise that would then allow him to service the Chinese and others more beneficially for Canada', if Energy East and other pipelines are built." Mulroney is now also advising the Trudeau cabinet on the upcoming renegotiation of NAFTA.

Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, has commented in The Globe and Mail, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."

Canada's ambassador to China John McCallum has commented, “The crucial point will be whether we can persuade the average Canadian or the average Canadian worker whether [a free trade agreement with China is] good for him or her."

The Trudeau government has launched an online public consultation on the proposed Canada-China FTA -- strangely, six months after it announced exploratory talks would take place and three weeks after those talks began in Beijing. This 90-day consultation period ends on Friday June 2.

While the government's online form does not allow for a straightforward and clear 'I do not support a Canada-China FTA' statement, you can send a message to the consultation and to Prime Minister Trudeau by going to our online action alert - Stop the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks! [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

The Council of Canadians supports the call for a 100 per cent clean energy economy by 2050 and opposes free trade agreements that enable and protect damaging extractive projects. We oppose the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement and see it as detrimental to people and the environment in both Canada and China.

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Council of Canadians opposes Premier Notley's endorsement of Canada-China FTA talks, tar sands exports to China

[ https://canadians.org/blog/council-cana ... ds-exports ]

April 18, 2017 - 7:51 am

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley shows her support for the 1.1 million barrel per day Energy East tar sands pipeline, March 2016.

The Council of Canadians is opposed to a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement given it would be detrimental to people and the environment in both Canada and China.

The Calgary Herald reports, "As Premier Rachel Notley heads east on her first Asian trade mission, Alberta’s NDP government is backing free trade talks between Canada and China. [Notley’s press secretary, Cheryl] Oates said the NDP government also backs the federal Liberal government in reviewing restrictions on state-owned-enterprises investing in the oilsands."

The article adds, "Wenran Jiang, director of the Canada-China Energy and Investment Forum, [and a former special adviser to the Alberta Department of Energy]... noted that the NDP, in opposition, had raised concerns about Chinese investment and opposed CNOOC’s takeover of Nexen ... [but that] Notley had shown pragmatism through actions such as her government’s support for the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline to Vancouver, which will significantly increase Alberta’s energy exports to China."

Chinese state-owned CNOOC Ltd. purchased the Canadian oil and gas giant Nexen Inc. for $15.1 billion in February 2013. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the 890,000 barrel per day Trans Mountain pipeline in November 2016.

The Calgary Herald then highlights, "A Canada-China free trade deal would likely face strong opposition on the left, potentially a problem for a social democratic government. The Council of Canadians advocacy group has warned that an agreement with China would weaken Canadian environmental standards, hurt indigenous rights and lead to the expansion of the oilsands. 'The point of any free trade agreement should be to better the lives of people in both countries, not to grant rights to corporations and push fossil fuels', the organization said in a petition campaign against a free trade agreement." [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

The Globe and Mail has reported, "China wants to forge a historic free-trade deal with Canada, but a senior Chinese official said this will require Canadian concessions on investment restrictions [notably in the oil and gas sector] and a commitment to build an energy pipeline to the coast."

In September 2016, CTV reported, "[Former Conservative prime minister Brian] Mulroney says that growing trade between Canada and China depends on Trudeau approving the Energy East Pipeline. Mulroney [says] Trudeau 'could have a nation building exercise that would then allow him to service the Chinese and others more beneficially for Canada', if Energy East and other pipelines are built."

The Council of Canadians stands with the more than 50 Indigenous nations signed the Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion that vows to block all proposed pipeline, tanker and rail projects that impact First Nations land and water.

We also support the concern argued by the Hupacasath First Nation that the Canadian government failed to consult First Nations before signing the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPA) in 2012. On this front, we see the Trudeau government following in the footsteps of the Harper government by not setting up an appropriate consultation process with First Nations on the Canada-China FTA.

The Globe and Mail has also reported, "A Nanos Research survey ... found 88 per cent are uncomfortable or somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect of a free-trade deal that would allow Chinese state-owned corporations to buy high-tech Canadian firms and lift restrictions barring these enterprises from investing in Alberta’s oil sands."

Exploratory talks toward a Canada-China FTA began on February 20 in Beijing and a second round is set to take place this month.

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks in Ottawa, April 24-28

[ https://canadians.org/blog/canada-china ... pril-24-28 ]

April 20, 2017 - 6:38 am

A second round of exploratory talks on a proposed Canada-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be happening in Ottawa this coming April 24-28.

The Globe and Mail reports, "Next Monday, Chinese and Canadian negotiators will sit down for five days in Ottawa for a second round of exploratory trade discussions. The first set of talks was held in Beijing in February."

In advance of those talks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had an hour-long telephone conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports, "Trudeau expressed great importance to developing friendly cooperation with China... The initiation of Canada-China Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue and the smooth advancement of the FTA exploratory discussions mark that bilateral cooperation is developing on the right track. Canada stands ready to, together with China, expand bilateral trade and investment exchanges..."

Furthermore, on that same day as the Trudeau's talk with Li, China's ambassador to Canada Lu Shaye told a business forum in Toronto, "We hope to speed up the exploratory discussions process on pushing China-Canada FTA."

The Globe and Mail notes, "Mr. Lu urged Canada’s corporate elite to 'actively introduce and explain to the Canadian public' the benefits of a free-trade deal with the world’s second biggest economy."

That urging from Lu no doubt comes given the deep unpopularity of the proposed deal in Canada.

A Nanos Research survey earlier this month found that 88 per cent would be uncomfortable or somewhat uncomfortable with a deal that would allow Chinese state-owned corporations to buy high-tech firms and that would allow these corporations to invest in the tar sands. In addition, 66 per cent say that Canada should link human rights to a free trade deal. These findings run counter to what the Chinese government has demanded (ability to purchase high-tech companies, the lifting of investment barriers in the tar sands, that democracy or human rights have no place in trade talks).

Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, has previously commented in The Globe and Mail, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."

While the Chinese government has been clear in its demands, Globe and Mail writers Robert Fife and Steven Chase have commented, "the Trudeau government has kept largely silent about what Ottawa expects in return."

The Trudeau government has launched an online public consultation on the proposed Canada-China FTA -- strangely, six months after it announced exploratory talks would take place and three weeks after those talks began in Beijing. This 90-day consultation period ends on Friday June 2.

While the government's online form does not allow for a straightforward 'I do not support a Canada-China FTA' statement, you can send a message as clear as that to the consultation and the Prime Minister by going to our online action alert - Stop the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks! [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

It is critical to ramp up the number of submissions to the government during the April 24-28 period of the trade talks, especially as the Chinese government and Canada's business elite push for a deal.

It is also notable that Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is currently on a 10-day trade mission to China and Japan. The Calgary Sun has reported that she supports the talks toward a Canada-China FTA as well as "the federal Liberal government in reviewing restrictions on state-owned-enterprises investing in the oilsands".

The Council of Canadians opposes the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement and sees it as detrimental to people and the environment in both Canada and China.

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Canada-China Free Trade Agreement seen as profitable for Canadian water companies

[ https://canadians.org/blog/canada-china ... -companies ]

April 21, 2017 - 3:04 pm

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both support pursuing a Canada-China FTA.

China faces huge water challenges.

The rapid industrialization of China has consumed massive amounts of water and has contributed to a terrible water crisis there. It has been estimated that 90 percent of groundwater in their cities and 75 percent of their rivers and lakes are polluted and as such some 700 million people drink contaminated water every day.

In this article in Water Canada magazine titled Canadian Water: Get Ready for a Free-Trade Deal With China [ http://watercanada.net/2017/canadian-wa ... ith-china/ ], Jeff Sanford writes, "If a free trade agreement can be struck between the Canadian and Chinese governments, it seems Canadian water companies are on course to tap into a huge market."

Sanford highlights:

Cleantech and remediation
1- "The amount of wastewater discharged in China increased from an astounding 41.5 billion tonnes in 2000 to 68.5 billion tonnes in 2012. ...Céline Bak, president of Analytica Advisors, an Ottawa-based company that monitors and reports on Canada’s cleantech sector, [states that], 'There are literally trillions of dollars’ worth of opportunities in terms of the remediation challenges'."

P3s
2- "Wei Feng [a senior North American manager for the Chinese firm Umore Consulting says] projects typically take the form of a public-private partnership (P3), so foreign companies can retain ownership stakes in projects over the entire lifecycle." Weng suggests that if a company can provide a wastewater treatment plant for 100,000 households, the Chinese government can guarantee $100 million over ten years to that company.

A Canada-China FTA could have other implications on water use as well:

Tar sands water use
3- Media reports suggest that the Chinese government want to have the limits on their state-owned enterprises investing in the tar sands lifted. Estimates vary, but in 2011 it is believed tar sands operations used about 170 million cubic metres of water, the same amount of water as 1.7 million homes in Canada. The tar sands also create 250 million litres of toxic waste every day.

Bottled water exports
4- The Globe and Mail has reported, "Using tax breaks and other forms of government encouragement, [China] wants its companies to bottle five million tonnes a year of Tibet water by 2020 and double that by 2025." It's not unreasonable to think that China might also see Canada as a source for bottled water.

Industrial water use in Canada
5- In May 2011, Globe and Mail columnist Eric Reguly wrote, "A UBS Investment Research study implies that water-intensive industries will have to migrate from water-scarce to water-rich regions of the planet. China's semiconductor industry shares a troubling feature with China’s steel industry: Both use outrageous amounts of water in a country where water resources are getting scarce. Once you understand that China has to phase out its thirstiest industries or risk starving itself, you might see how water-rich Canada could emerge as one of the world’s great manufacturing countries."

To raise your concerns about the Canada-China FTA in advance of the April 24-28 talks in Ottawa, please click here:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Trudeau government seeks 'progress' on Canada-China 'free trade' within two years

[ https://canadians.org/blog/trudeau-gove ... -two-years ]

April 24, 2017 - 7:49 am

(PHOTO: Greenpeace China climate campaigner Liu Shuang tries to deliver a letter to the Canadian embassy in Beijing in advance of the COP 15 climate talks in Copenhagen, December 2009. Both Trudeau and the Chinese government are open to a further expansion of the tar sands and export pipelines to tidewater.)

The Trudeau government is signalling it wants to move quickly on 'free trade' with China before the October 2019 federal election.

The Globe and Mail reports, "Canada has yet to formally launch free-trade negotiations with China. [After a first round of talks in Beijing in February, a] second round of exploratory talks will take place this week [April 24-28] in Ottawa. Other Western countries have taken as long as a decade to conclude free-trade pacts with Beijing. But Ottawa is now indicating it expects to move quickly."

The article highlights, "The Liberal government wants to 'demonstrate progress in our first mandate', Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in an interview. 'That’s certainly the kind of urgency we bring to these discussions.' ...Mr. Morneau declined to define what 'progress' might look like. Canada and China have agreed to double trade by 2025, but Mr. Morneau said Ottawa is not wedded to the idea of a single, sweeping trade deal. Some Canadian academics and business leaders have suggested Ottawa may be better to pursue a series of sector-by-sector agreements that could be more quickly set in place. 'That is exactly what the discussion at the exploratory level is considering. So we’re looking at those alternatives in terms of approach', Mr. Morneau said."

Still, Morneau is not ruling out a comprehensive 'free trade' agreement at this point.

A Nanos Research survey earlier this month found that 88 per cent would be uncomfortable or somewhat uncomfortable with a deal that would allow Chinese state-owned corporations to buy high-tech firms and that would allow these corporations to invest in the tar sands. In addition, 66 per cent say that Canada should link human rights to a free trade deal. These findings run counter to what the Chinese government has demanded (ability to purchase high-tech companies, the lifting of investment barriers in the tar sands, that democracy or human rights have no place in trade talks).

Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, has previously commented in The Globe and Mail, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."

In March, Canada's ambassador to China John McCallum said, “The crucial point will be whether we can persuade the average Canadian or the average Canadian worker whether it’s good for him or her."

That could be a hard sell given that studies show that 'free trade' deals like the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) cost jobs and worsen income inequality. They are also a disaster for the environment.

The Trudeau government has launched an online public consultation on the proposed Canada-China FTA -- strangely, six months after it announced exploratory talks would take place and three weeks after those talks began in Beijing. This 90-day consultation period ends on Friday June 2.

While the government's online form does not allow for a straightforward 'I do not support a Canada-China FTA' statement, you can send a message as clear as that to the consultation and the Prime Minister by going to our online action alert - Stop the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks! [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Council of Canadians visits Langevin Block to ask Trudeau to stop Canada-China FTA talks

[ https://canadians.org/blog/council-cana ... -fta-talks ]

April 26, 2017 - 3:22 pm

The Council of Canadians asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks this afternoon.

Exploratory talks on the proposed deal are happening this week (April 24-28) at an undisclosed location in Ottawa.

Undaunted by the secrecy of the talks, Ottawa office staff held a banner in front of Langevin Block (where the Prime Minister's Office is located), knocked on the front-door in an effort to raise our concerns with a PMO representative, delivered a leaflet to the Langevin Block mailbox (after we were told no one from the PMO would speak with us), and even spoke briefly with Trudeau's driver to see if he would take a leaflet to pass on to the Prime Minister (he politely declined).

CTV was there to report on this action.

A Nanos Research survey earlier this month found that 88 per cent of Canadians would be uncomfortable or somewhat uncomfortable with a deal that would allow Chinese state-owned corporations to buy high-tech firms and that would allow these corporations to invest in the tar sands. In addition, 66 per cent of respondents said that Canada should link human rights to a free trade deal.

These findings run counter to what the Chinese government has demanded (ability to purchase high-tech companies, the lifting of investment barriers in the tar sands, that democracy or human rights have no place in trade talks).

Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, has previously commented in The Globe and Mail, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."

The Trudeau government has launched an online public consultation on the proposed Canada-China FTA -- strangely, six months after it announced exploratory talks would take place and three weeks after those talks began in Beijing. This 90-day consultation period ends on Friday June 2.

While the government's online form does not allow for a straightforward 'I do not support a Canada-China FTA' statement, you can send a message as clear as that to the consultation and the Prime Minister by going to our online action alert - Stop the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks! [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=66189 ]

The Council of Canadians opposes the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement and sees it as detrimental to people and the environment in both Canada and China.


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]