***Strategic Action *** CA4FTA *** Strategic Action *** CA4FTA ***
Dec. 6, 2006
Friends,
We invite you to help us build on some good news concerning the Canada Central America Free Trade Agreement (CA4FTA) being negotiated between Canada and El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
On October 17, 2006, the Standing Committee on International Trade made the following recommendation that “the government promote public debate by
- fully and immediately disclosing all draft texts and Canadian negotiating proposals for the CA4FTA;
- developing mechanisms for authentic public debate, including stakeholder consultations that are open to civil society representatives and the public at large;
- mandating the Committee to conduct a further study on the potential impacts of the Canada-CA4FTA, including evidence of human rights experts. Such a study would enable the Standing Committee to make an informed recommendation to Parliament.”
These recommendations are substantially in accord with what the SJC and the Americas Policy Group (APG) of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), of which the SJC is a part, have been calling for. Last year the APG issued a sign-on letter in which it said:
“NAFTA has not delivered its promised benefits to the Mexican people. The facts are troubling: 1.5 million campesino farmers have lost their livelihoods, wages remain low, union organizing is suppressed, and, as has been the case in Canada, the government has had to pay millions of dollars in “compensation” to businesses whose operations were deemed to be affected by environmental or health protection measures. Even when Canada wins it loses. Such was the recent tribunal process that ruled in Canada’s favour over soft wood lumber. NAFTA’s strongest economic partner, the U.S., simply ignored the tribunal’s ruling.”
A major concern we share is that the CA4FTA negotiations are taking place in a climate of secrecy without citizens of any of the countries involved knowing the contents of the agreements. Up until now, the Canadian government has resisted all attempts to make the contents public and to give Canadians an opportunity to discuss them. Now the Standing Committee on International Trade has added its voice to ours and it is important that we speak out once more.
Request:
We invite you to contact The Honourable David Emerson, Minister for International Trade and do the following:
write a short paragraph on why you are concerned about the CA4FTA express your appreciation of the Standing Committee report call upon the government to heed its requests
It would be helpful if you were to send a copy of your letter to your own Member of Parliament.
Addresses:
The Hon. David Emerson
Minister for International Trade
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa ON K1A 0G2
Emerson.d@parl.gc.ca
(M.P.’s Name)
House of Commons,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6