CETA UPDATE: April 27, 2012 .... Myth-bustin'

[Oscar]

CETA UPDATE: April 27, 2012 .... Myth-bustin' . . . . . Blink and you could miss it! . . . . & Background


Trade Justice Network debunks five Harper myths about the Canada-EU trade deal

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14811

By Stuart Trew, Thursday, April 26th, 2012

The Trade Justice Network, to which the Council of Canadians is a member, has released a “mythbusting” document to challenge misleading statements the federal government is making about the benefits of the Canada-EU free trade deal (CETA) to Canadian municipalities. It comes at a timely moment as Conservative ministers fan out across Canada to promote CETA this Friday.

“Having looked into the impacts the CETA would have on their powers, over 50 municipal governments have passed motions seeking more information and a greater say in the negotiations,” says the TJN in its report, Is CETA Good for Cities? “More than half of these municipalities, including many large cities like Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton, are asking the provinces to exclude local governments entirely from the EU trade deal.”

On April 16, the B.C. Town of New Westminster joined that growing list and we promptly added it to our interactive map. And today we read in The Daily Observer, an Ottawa Upper Valley publication, that Renfrew County’s finance and administration committee, following presentations from the Council of Canadians and National Farmers Union, would like to seek an exemption from CETA from the provincial government.

“As municipalities we want to be exempt, entirely from the procurement negotiations,” said Renfrew County Mayor Briscoe. “There has been a lot of secrecy and we are lost (regarding the agreement).”

The article continues:

Along with asking the federal and provincial governments to seek an exemption for Ontario municipalities for procurement, the committee is also asking the government to continue its support of the three pillars of the agricultural supply management system, namely production, management import control, and a pricing policy that covers production costs. The recommendation also requests that both governments disclose initial procurement, services and investment offers to the EU.

On May 1 the City of London, Ontario will consider a similar motion to request an exemption after hearing from numerous people and groups in the community, including the local Council of Canadians chapter and the Stop CETA coalition, that it’s the best way to protect local democracy from overly restrictive trade, investment and procurement rules.

The federal government “has tried to pacify these growing concerns in a Q&A-style document circulated to Canadian municipalities,” says the TJN mythbuster. “Unfortunately, the information in the document is extremely misleading and in parts inaccurate. It also fails to address many of the real concerns being raised by municipal governments through their CETA motions. The following myth-busting guide attempts to set the record straight for municipal councillors and officials, as well as the general public.”

Click here to download the myth-busting guide in English and here for the French version.

Click here to see the federal Q+A.

Click here for a municipal resolution toolkit to help you approach your city, town or school board about the Canada-EU trade deal.

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QUOTE: "4. Tricky issues

“Negotiations on the trade deal are continuing though the trickiest issues have been left to the final stages (says the EU ambassador to Canada). That includes talks on agriculture, which EU officials conceded are ‘always the hardest to deal with’. The Europeans said they are not interested in pressing Canada to abandon its supply management over things like dairy products. But they want greater access to the Canadian market by boosting a quota that hasn’t changed in years. And the quid pro quo would be greater access for beef and pork producers to the European market. … However some EU officials said the trade-offs could come in other areas as well, such as intellectual property or public procurement.”"

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Blink and you could miss Harper’s 18-minister promo tour for Canada-EU trade deal

http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/20 ... pr-12.html

MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release April 27, 2012

Citizens group dares Conservatives to truly engage with Canadians on risks and benefits of CETA

Calgary – The Harper government’s 18-minister, cross-Canada tour to promote the Canada-EU free trade deal should be rebranded the “In-and-Out Scandal: Part 2,” says the Council of Canadians, which challenges Conservative ministers to actually engage with Canadians on the supposed benefits and possible risks of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

“Speaking at Canadians isn’t the same as speaking with them,” says Ted Woynillowicz, Calgary organizer with the Council of Canadians, a grassroots social justice organization, commenting on the whirlwind CETA tour today. “If the Harper government really wanted to meet with workers, he would have picked a more convenient time than 9 or 10 a.m. on a Friday. We dare these ministers to come back to the province to actually meet with the public and take tough questions about CETA. We’d be pleased to volunteer to organize town halls.”

The Council of Canadians is one of a growing number of environmental, cultural farmers, student, Indigenous and labour organizations under the umbrella of the Trade Justice Network that oppose CETA for the negative impact its procurement, intellectual property and investment rules will have on local democracy, environmental measures, public services and other important policies that corporations want to weaken in order to increase profits.

Municipal governments have been outspoken about the lack of transparency in the CETA negotiations. Nearly 60 cities, towns and school boards have called for more information on the negotiations and a say in the outcome. At least 33 have asked to be excluded from CETA altogether to protect their democratic rights to set social policy and spending priorities without fear of corporate challenges.

“The federal government’s claims that CETA will create significant new wealth and jobs in Canada are exaggerated,” says Woynillowicz. “The European market is already by and large open to Canadian exports with the exception of bans on genetically modified crops, and the EU procurement market is open also. There is no basis in fact for statements that the agreement will create 80,000 jobs and put $1,000 in every family’s pocket, as Trade Minister Ed Fast repeats at every opportunity.”

The Council of Canadians points out that since NAFTA was signed, Canada has lost at least 500,000 manufacturing jobs while average incomes have stagnated, according to Statistics Canada. There are compelling studies showing Canada’s trade deficit will increase under CETA, leading to job losses. -30-

For more information:

Ted Woynillowicz, (403) 286-9283, woynillt@telusplanet.net
Twitter: @CouncilOfCDNs, Facebook, www.canadians.org/ceta

QUESTIONS FOR MEDIA

Why does Harper keep saying CETA will create 80,000 jobs when there is no factual basis for this in any of the reports that have been written? How can Harper square that number with the reality, acknowledged in the federal-EU assessment, that Canada's trade deficit will grow under CETA? (This is where Jim Stanford bases his 23,000 to 150,000 job loss stat -- on the extent to which imports will outpace exports and reduce employment as a result.)

What do the Conservative ministers say about cities that want to be excluded from the deal because of the unreasonable procurement rules that most global cities have avoided. This is purely an EU demand so why is Harper gambling with cities?

Why would Harper contemplate intellectual property rule changes in a trade deal when they could increase the cost of drugs by $3 billion? Why won't he listen to his Heritage Committee which recommended that copyright issues not even be broached in a trade negotiation (CETA) because they are too controversial and must be dealt with openly and democratically by legislators?

Why is the EU protecting its municipally delivered services including water but Canada is not? We've seen the initial offers from both sides and the Europeans want to protect the right of cities to expand or create new municipal services where Harper and the provinces will only protect existing serviced (new or expanded transit, recycling or water monopolies would be vulnerable to trade and investment challenges in Canada under CETA).

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19 cabinet ministers promote CETA today as deal falters

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14854

By Brent Patterson, Friday, April 27th, 2012

On Monday, National Post columnist John Ivison wrote, “Conservatives have noted that opposition to the (Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) is rallying around leftist civil society and labour groups like the Council of Canadians and the CAW, who are stirring up discontent at municipal level by suggesting that under the deal, all local procurement will have to be offered up for tender internationally. …The Tories intend to rectify the situation later this week, when ministers will fan out across the country to sell the deal to Canadians, claiming it will benefit every region. Government sources say they will be spelling out those benefits and attempting to dispel the ‘falsehoods’ raised by their opponents.”

Then on Thursday, the Toronto Star reported, “On Friday, cabinet ministers will be speaking across the country to boost the benefits of the trade deal to ‘workers and businesses in every region of the country’, according to a news release. (Foreign minister John) Baird and (trade minister Ed) Fast will speak in Ottawa while other ministers will fan out to the other provinces to give their sales pitch.” To see Council of Canadians trade campaigner Stuart Trew’s action alert to counter today’s offensive by Baird, Fast and seventeen other cabinet ministers, go to weblink.

Trouble brewing for CETA

1. Municipal opposition
Trew has highlighted, “Nearly 60 cities, towns and school boards have called for more information on the negotiations and a say in the outcome. At least 33 have asked to be excluded from CETA altogether to protect their democratic rights to set social policy and spending priorities without fear of corporate challenges.” The Council of Canadians will continue to encourage more municipal resolutions with cities calling for an exclusion from CETA, http://canadians.org/action/2011/CETA-resolution.html.

2. Provincial opposition
National Post columnist John Ivision has also noted, “From the government’s point of view, a deal in 2012 is crucial, particularly given the prospect of new provincial governments in Quebec City and Victoria who may be less sympathetic to the trade agenda.” It should be remembered that in 2005, when a Canada-EU free trade deal was last attempted, the lack of a unified position among the federal government and the provinces led to the Europeans walking away from the talks.

3. European opposition
The Toronto Star notes, “(The) passage of the deal requires not just the approval of the European Parliament but the individual EU member nations…”

-European Parliament: More than 100 Members of the European Parliament have signed a statement that says CETA should not move forward unless Canada withdraws its challenge at the World Trade Organization of the European Union ban on Canadian seal products. MEPs have also raised concerns about the environmental damage caused by the tar sands, the willingness of municipalities to open up their procurement contracts, the impact of intellectual property rules on the price of generic drugs, Canada’s continued export of asbestos, among other issues. 369 MEPs voting against CETA would derail the ratification of the deal. As noted above, more than 100 have already said that CETA should not move forward unless the WTO challenge against the seal hunt is dropped. That means we need another 269 MEPs need to oppose CETA.

-European countries: “Canada’s desire for a sweeping free trade pact with the European Union is unlikely to happen unless Ottawa drops its visa requirements for three European countries, the EU ambassador warns. And three of those countries — Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania — are unlikely to endorse the trade pact unless Canada lifts its visa requirement on their citizens, said Matthias Brinkmann, the EU’s ambassador in Canada. …Canada slapped the visa requirement on the Czech Republic in particular in 2009 to stem an influx of Roma refugees. Ottawa is hoping sweeping immigration reforms proposed earlier this year will discourage claimants and allow the visa restrictions to be lifted, eliminating the stumbling block on its free trade agenda.”

4. Tricky issues
“Negotiations on the trade deal are continuing though the trickiest issues have been left to the final stages (says the EU ambassador to Canada). That includes talks on agriculture, which EU officials conceded are ‘always the hardest to deal with’. The Europeans said they are not interested in pressing Canada to abandon its supply management over things like dairy products. But they want greater access to the Canadian market by boosting a quota that hasn’t changed in years. And the quid pro quo would be greater access for beef and pork producers to the European market. …However some EU officials said the trade-offs could come in other areas as well, such as intellectual property or public procurement.”

It had been expected that CETA would be signed in August, but now, based on recent comments by the European Union president Pia Olsen Dyhr, it could be delayed to October or even later in 2012. Once signed, the ratification process could take another year or more, putting our deadline to stop the deal sometime in mid-2014 or even early-2015.

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Canada-EU trade should not be concluded in its current form, says Council of Canadians

http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/20 ... pr-12.html

MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release April 23, 2012

Ottawa – The Council of Canadians responds to statements today from International Trade Minister Ed Fast following his meeting in Ottawa with Danish counterpart, Trade and Investment Minister Pia Olsen Dyhr, regarding the status of Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations.

“The Canada-EU trade deal offers little new access to the European market that Canadian companies don’t already have. We should see CETA for what it is – a covert way for the Harper government to further restructure and deregulate the Canadian economy in the interests of multinational corporations and purely for their profit,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, a national grassroots social justice organization.

“Over 33 municipalities, including major cities like Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton, have asked to be taken out of CETA altogether. They are asking why they should have to give up important job creation tools like putting Canadian content requirements on public contracts or using ‘buy local’ policies to help local farmers. If Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec can protect these policies for their hydro utilities, our municipalities should hold onto them, too,” adds Barlow.

The Council of Canadians is one of over 30 organizations in the Trade Justice Network, which is opposed to CETA because of the impact it would have on social, cultural and environmental policy, public services, Indigenous rights and local democracy.

In January, the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Public Employees issued a report called ‘Full of Holes’ which asked why the federal and provincial governments had failed to exclude drinking water services from its initial offers to the EU when EU negotiators were asking to carve out municipal drinking and wastewater services. The report was based on leaked documents available at http://tradejustice.ca. -30-

For media inquiries:

Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, (613) 795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org
Twitter: @CouncilOfCDNs, Facebook,
www.canadians.org/ceta

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CETA BACKGROUND:

Council of Canadians on CETA:http://canadians.org/trade/issues/EU/index.html

Understanding CETA:http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1029

Saskatchewan must skip CETA!
http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/vie ... php?t=1091

[Oscar]

Provinces and patients will pay if feds meet EU patent demands: Dix

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/BC-Poli ... ugDemands/

By Andrew MacLeod November 22, 2012 05:10 pm

With International Trade Minister Ed Fast in Belgium this week for trade talks with the European Union, British Columbia NDP Leader Adrian Dix is calling on the federal government to reject the EU's proposed changes to Canada's drug patent laws.

"It's very important that provincial health systems and medicare in general are protected against an unnecessary increase in costs," Dix said in an interview. "The costs and consequences are borne by provincial governments and also patients and the sick."

The Canadian Press reported last week that anonymous government and industry sources said Fast was willing to at least partly meet E.U. demands for increased patent protection for brand name drugs as part of negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

The EU has sought to have patents not start until a drug receives regulatory approval, extend patent protection to 10 years from the current eight, and strengthen legal rights for appeals on patent decisions. The CP said government documents estimated the cost of those changes to Canadians at as much as $2 billion a year.

An earlier report had put the cost to B.C. alone at $250 million a year.

A spokesperson for B.C.'s jobs, tourism and skills training ministry, which is responsible for the international trade file, did not respond to a call by posting time.

Premier Christy Clark has previously said the province would like to be reimubursed if the federal government signs a deal that adds to B.C.'s drug tab.

"They keep talking about compensation," said Dix. "They forget there's only one taxpayer."

Meeting the E.U.'s demands would also add costs for private health insurance plans and individuals, particularly those with chronic illnesses, he said.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Find him on Twitter or reach him here.

[Oscar]

Council of Canadians leaks CETA draft on financial services

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=19628

Brent Patterson <bpatterson@canadians.org>

28 February, 2013 7:08:45 AM CST

Financial services are a continuing obstacle to the signing of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

The Globe and Mail reports, "Canada is resisting pressure from Europe to allow its financial institutions and investors to directly sue Ottawa for measures it might take to protect the stability of the financial system or market players, according to a leaked draft of the services and investment chapter of the deal obtained by the Council of Canadians."

The Canadian Press explains, "The documents show Canada is taking a cautious approach, and will only allow a more open market if Canadian authorities can block business activity that would put the financial system at risk. ...Canada wants to set up a special mechanism that would have governments resolve any disputes that arise from new forays into each other's financial services sector. ...That's because the federal government speaks frequently about the strength of Canada's financial services, boasting about the oversight that allowed Canada to avoid the worst of the global financial crisis that is still undermining Europe's banks .... Canada's caution is bumping up against an aggressive European drive for investor protections that have no strings attached."

Yesterday, Council of Canadians trade campaigner Stuart Trew commented, "Not only European but also U.S. and Mexican financial firms would be able to pick apart Canada’s prudential financial regulations if CETA is signed and ratified, which raises the risk level for all of us. ...The possibility that CETA could undermine Canada’s world-famous banking and financial safeguards is just one more reason among dozens to say no to this deal."

Financial services have been a point of contention for several years now. In December 2010, Postmedia News reported that the United Kingdom might find CETA "difficult to sell politically" with a financial services agreement that "implied an influx of foreign professionals" to Britain. France, Italy and Spain reportedly had similar concerns. And in June 2011, the Financial Post reported that the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group said CETA talks "could suffer" given there was "a significant financial services component" and Canadian banks were opposed to the merger of the LSE with the Toronto Stock Exchange.

News reports note that long after the deal was to be signed, financial services are just one of the numerous outstanding issues in the talks. Other unresolved issues include drug patents, beef, pork, procurement, investment and automobiles.

For more, please read:

Canada’s banking regulations under attack in EU trade deal,
http://canadians.org/blog/?p=19612

WIN! London-Toronto stock exchange takeover bid terminated,
http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9531

UPDATE: The Council of Canadians campaign to stop bank mergers in 1998,
http://canadians.org/blog/?p=17125