NAFTA: Local group shares NAFTA concerns

[Oscar]

Northumberland chapter op-ed on trade appears in digital & print editions of newspaper

[ https://canadians.org/blog/northumberla ... -newspaper ]

May 7, 2017 - 7:24 am

(PHOTO: Chapter activist Rick Arnold)

The Council of Canadians Northumberland chapter has had their opinion column expressing concerns about 'free trade' agreements published in the digital and print editions of Northumberland Today.

The online version was published on April 27, while the print edition was published on May 4. The combined circulation for the digital and print editions of the newspaper is more than 18,500 readers.

The column discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).

Chapter activist Rick Arnold writes, "Many of us here in Northumberland County have been transfixed by US President Donald Trump’s recent harsh rhetoric towards Canada and in response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s attempt to placate the White House."

Arnold notes, "Free-trade proponents would have us believe that NAFTA renegotiations is like a high-stakes game of poker to see who can gain advantage and out-manoeuvre the other. But let’s not be fooled for a moment that it’s a battle between equals. The renegotiation of NAFTA is not going to be a win-win proposition for either junior partner, Canada or Mexico."

He highlights, "Nor should we in Northumberland believe that these national-level trade negotiations will not affect us. ...Empire Cheese and Butter, located near Campbellford, is a small co-op that relies for its cheese production on milk provided by eight local dairy farms. Empire products are high-quality and are currently to be found on several shelves in food-related businesses in towns like Cobourg and Port Hope. However, under CETA, Empire’s products are in danger of being supplanted by a flood of cheaper European cheeses. Multiply Northumberland’s example by the 47 small and medium-sized cheese plants to be found in various parts of Ontario, and one can see that hundreds (if not thousands) of rural jobs are on the line."

And he concludes, "Sadly, government leaders and their attendant free-trade promoters play down the fact that trade deals like NAFTA have contributed significantly to inequality, unemployment, migration, food dependency and pollution in all three nations."

To read the full op-ed, please click here:
[ http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2017 ... a-concerns ]

Tags: chapters
[ https://canadians.org/tags/chapters ]

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