NAFTA: SIGN & SHARE PETITION- "NO to Chap. 11"

NAFTA: SIGN & SHARE PETITION- "NO to Chap. 11"

Postby Oscar » Sat Mar 17, 2018 8:47 am

NAFTA deal could come as early as April

[ https://canadians.org/blog/nafta-deal-c ... arly-april ]

March 17, 2018 - 8:20 am

Sign the petition [ https://secure.canadians.org/page/19311/petition/1 ]

We've joined more than 100 prominent Canadian, Québécois and Indigenous artists who are asking the government to protect culture in NAFTA negotiations.

As you know, renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been at the top of U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda.

While there has been speculation that the negotiations could be put on hold or even collapse, there are now strong indications that what is being described as an “agreement in principle” could be reached by early April.

President Trump is now pushing for a deal to be concluded within weeks, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wants that too, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton says it’s possible and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has commented, “We recognize that the American side is eager to get forward motion on NAFTA. We are too.”

This week, in advance of the 8th round of NAFTA talks expected in late March or early April, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Washington for three days of talks with key White House officials and members of Congress.

Recently, President Trump threatened to impose devastating steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada if he doesn’t get the NAFTA deal he wants.

Every signal is that the negotiations are about to become much more intense over the coming few weeks as the U.S. negotiators push for a deal.

The Council of Canadians is calling for a better NAFTA, one that replaces the current deal with an agreement that ends the controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanism that has been repeatedly used to undermine environmental protections, removes energy proportionality (rather than expanding it) and commits to a 100 per cent clean energy economy by 2050, removes water as a service, investment and a good and instead recognizes it as a human right along with the United Nations obligations to “respect, protect and fulfill” that right, and that enshrines the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the right to free, prior and informed consent.

In the coming crucial weeks, we’ll be releasing a report made possible because of the generous donations of supporters like you by author-activist Gordon Laxer on why energy proportionality – also known as the mandatory oil and gas export provision - must be removed from NAFTA to address the climate crisis. This is key because the current talks seek to include Mexico under this provision, which would only exacerbate climate change.

And right now, we are trying to get as many signatures as possible on our national petition to tell the Trudeau government that the Chapter 11 investor-state dispute settlement provision must be removed from NAFTA. Big Oil wants Chapter 11 to stay in place, Trudeau appears committed to keeping it too, we want it gone.

If you haven’t already done so, please sign this petition today to send a clear message to Prime Minister Trudeau that transnational corporations shouldn’t have a tool to undo government decisions made in the public interest.

Sign the petition [ https://secure.canadians.org/page/19311/petition/1 ]


I will continue to keep you informed on the latest developments in this critical campaign. In the meantime, thank you again for fighting for trade that works for people and the planet.


Sujata Dey's blog
Trade campaigner for the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/sujata-dey ]
Oscar
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Re: NAFTA: SIGN & SHARE PETITION- "NO to Chap. 11"

Postby Oscar » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:55 pm

Canadians tell Trudeau they don't want Chapter 11 in NAFTA

[ https://canadians.org/blog/canadians-te ... r-11-nafta ]

April 17, 2018 - 4:04 pm

The Council of Canadians has long opposed the Chapter 11 investor-state dispute settlement provision in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Bloomberg now reports, "The most frequent advice the government heard in public consultations before NAFTA talks opened in August was to eliminate Chapter 11, the part of the pact that deals with investor-state dispute settlement, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News through a freedom of information request."

That article adds, "The government began the consultation process last year by asking for written submissions from the public after the U.S. gave notice it wanted to renegotiate the 24-year-old agreement."

It then notes, "Of about 200 letters and emails released by the government, 50 demanded the removal of Chapter 11 on the basis that it gives companies too much power."

While the Trudeau government has proposed 'reforming' the investment provision in NAFTA, the article highlights, "Paring back Chapter 11 isn’t good enough, the mechanism needs to be removed completely, according to Sujata Dey, a trade campaigner at the Council of Canadians, a non-profit social justice group. 'It doesn’t actually get rid of the fundamental problem, which is that companies are given binding rights', she said from Montreal. Just reforming Chapter 11 'wouldn’t be a satisfying move'."

The Council of Canadians joins with OpenMedia and other allies in calling for the government to release the findings of all 46,400 submissions sent to them on NAFTA. Failing to do so reveals the 'consultation' as merely a public relations exercise, rather than a genuine consultation.

To sign our online petition - Tell Trudeau to drop Chapter 11 in NAFTA! - please click here:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/page/19311/petition/1 ]


Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland will be in Washington on Thursday to discuss NAFTA with her counterparts, so please sign today to send an important message in advance of those talks!

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Oscar
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Posts: 9079
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm


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