CETA: Can't trust Harper on fisheries fund . . ?

[Oscar]

If Harper can't be trusted on the fisheries fund, what about pharmaceutical drugs?

[ http://canadians.org/blog/if-harper-can ... ical-drugs ]

December 13, 2014 - 4:30 pm

If it is "very clear" to Newfoundland and Labrador premier Paul Davis that "we cannot trust Stephen Harper, cannot trust this government" on the matter of the fisheries fund, then perhaps all premiers should be questioning another promise Harper made in order to secure their support for the Canada-European 'free trade' agreement.

In October 2013, Postmedia reported, "Canada agreed to stronger intellectual property protection that will eventually increase the cost of pharmaceutical drugs for [provincial] governments across the country... The Conservative government expects all provinces and territories to support the deal and says it will compensate jurisdictions adversely affected by the EU’s increased cheese access and the additional patent protection on pharmaceutical drugs. ...Provinces have been worried that stronger [intellectual property protection] rules could cost them potentially billions of dollars more in pharmaceuticals and delay access to cheaper generic drugs. ...[But] Harper said the government will compensate provinces for the higher drug costs, although there won’t be any impact for at least eight years." [ http://canadians.org/blog/name-free-tra ... oison-pill ]

How much might this all cost? Council of Canadians health care campaigner Michael Butler has written, "It is estimated the changes to patent protection for pharmaceutical drugs will cost our public health care system anywhere between $800 million to $1.7 billion annually. ...Internal documents from the federal government also estimated that the additional costs for patented drugs could be up to $2 billion, how they arrived at this figure and what it foreshadows is unknown." [ http://canadians.org/blog/name-free-tra ... oison-pill ]

But perhaps this promise too was "never intended to be a blank cheque" as Harper is now saying about the fisheries fund.

The Telegram explains, "More than a year ago, in the wake of the Canada-Europe free trade agreement announcement, then-premier Kathy Dunderdale announced she had negotiated a $400-million fund for fisheries transformation. The $400-million fund was a condition of Newfoundland and Labrador dropping minimum processing requirements (MPRs) on fish bound for Europe as part of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). ...Consistently over the past year, federal representatives have said the fund is 'up to $400 million' [but] this fall, cracks started to emerge in the deal. The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement following the meeting with Davis [on Friday evening], saying the money was always meant to be tied to 'demonstrable losses' as a consequence of the province dropping MPRs." [ http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2 ... -go-well/1 ]

Given this controversy over a $400 million fund, all premiers should be asking if a similar fate is in store for the up to $2 billion a year Harper has suggested would be compensated for the higher drug costs that will come with the Canada-EU 'free trade' deal.

In terms of next steps, CBC notes, "Upon his return to the province, Davis said he would meet with his cabinet to decide what direction government would take, and discussing their support of the free trade deal would be high on the agenda." [ACCESS DENIED] The Canadian Press adds, "Davis has threatened to pull his province's support for CETA if the dispute cannot be worked out. He said late Friday he'll meet with his cabinet before deciding on that or whether he'll enforce the processing rules." [ACCESS DENIED]

The Council of Canadians calls on Premier Davis and his cabinet to defend the interests of Newfoundland and Labrador (and the constitutional right to minimum processing requirements) and withdraw their support for CETA. We also call on all provincial premiers to press Harper publicly on his promise of compensation to the provinces for increased pharmaceutical drug costs under CETA. We also believe that this issue should be high on the agenda of the next meeting of all premiers in the new year and at a First Ministers meeting should Harper ever agree to meet with the premiers.

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

[Oscar]

Harper-Davis CETA meeting didn’t go well

[ http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2 ... -go-well/1 ]

James McLeod Published on December 12, 2014

‘He can’t be trusted,’ Davis says of Harper

Premier Paul Davis met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper Friday evening in Ottawa, but it didn’t do a whole lot of good.

Davis left the meeting frustrated, saying Harper cannot be trusted.

“They’re moving the goalposts,” he said. “They’ve moved them so far that the fund is going to be unreachable.”

By Davis’s account, the meeting was just a face-to-face version of the public back-and-forth that has been going on all week.

Davis said Harper and ACOA Minister Rob Moore stated their position, and Davis and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Keith Hutchings put forward the province’s argument.

Neither side budged.

Moore is also ostensibly the Newfoundland and Labrador representative in the federal cabinet, since the province has no Conservative MPs, but Davis didn’t think Moore is really doing his job on that front.

“You would think you’re there to represent Newfoundland and Labrador, and clearly he’s not doing that,” Davis said.

Davis said he was headed back to Newfoundland and Labrador, and would meet with his cabinet over the weekend to figure out what to do next.

More than a year ago, in the wake of the Canada-Europe free trade agreement announcement, then-premier Kathy Dunderdale announced she had negotiated a $400-million fund for fisheries transformation.

The $400-million fund was a condition of Newfoundland and Labrador dropping minimum processing requirements (MPRs) on fish bound for Europe as part of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The money was supposed to be cost-shared 70-30 between Ottawa and the province.

Consistently over the past year, federal representatives have said the fund is “up to $400 million” and this fall, cracks started to emerge in the deal.

- - - SNIP - - -

Davis said CETA has benefits for the province beyond just the fishery, so the government has to think hard before withdrawing support.

At the same time, though, he said the signatories should be wary of Harper.

“He can’t be trusted,” Davis said. “If I was another jurisdiction — another province or one of the 28 EU countries — they should be clearly looking at what they have in place, and what agreement they have there, because ours is clear.”

- - -
jmcleod@thetelegram.com
Twitter: TelegramJames

[Oscar]

Premier Davis should hold public hearings before deciding on CETA support

[ http://canadians.org/media/premier-davi ... ta-support ]

Media Release December 16, 2014

OTTAWA - The Council of Canadians says that Newfoundland & Labrador Premier Paul Davis should commit to holding public hearings in the province prior to making the final decision on whether or not to support the controversial trade agreement with the European Union.

The proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has come under fire in the province since it emerged last week that the Harper government was reneging on its promise of a $280 million contribution to a fisheries transition fund to compensate Newfoundland and Labrador for lifting its minimum processing requirements on fish products exported to the EU.

“Premier Davis said it best himself when he stated that Stephen Harper ‘can’t be trusted’ on CETA, but federal backtracking on the promise of a transition fund is just the tip of iceberg with this dangerous agreement,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “The citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador have the right to know all the details of what’s in this agreement and what other promises have been made by the federal government, and they deserve to have a say in whether or not Premier Davis should ultimately support the deal.”

Despite being under negotiation for five years, Canadians only got their first look at the official text of the CETA on September 26, the same day the deal was announced as concluded and final. The deal is now in the process of legal review and translation, and the ratification process is expected to stretch into at least 2016.

“The official text makes it clear that CETA will have far-ranging and negative impacts on the provinces,” adds Scott Harris, trade campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “We know the costs of pharmaceuticals will go up, we know that provinces and municipalities will lose the ability to make purchasing decisions that support local jobs, and we know that government measures at all levels will be at risk under the investor-state dispute settlement process. A lively debate on CETA is taking place in Europe, and it’s long past time for Canadians to also hear and have the opportunity to debate the real facts about CETA, not just listen to the federal government’s spin.”

“If the federal fisheries fund fiasco has proven one thing, it’s that people care deeply about how this agreement will impact communities across this province,” says Newfoundland and Labrador-based Council of Canadians board member Ken Kavanagh. “If Premier Davis is serious about standing up for the best interests of this province, he needs to commit to having an honest conversation about all the implications of CETA and to giving the people of Newfoundland and Labrador a real say in whether or not they want this agreement.”

An Environics poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians following the October 2013 announcement that an agreement-in-principle on CETA had been reached found that 80% of Canadians, and 84% of people living in Atlantic Canada, agreed that the federal government should have to hold public hearings across Canada before it can sign and ratify the deal. -30-

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