Egg and dairy farmers take note…..If you haven’t heard about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (aka TPP) you’re not alone. This major, multinational trade agreement, conducted in private closed-door meetings had already voted on several key issues even before President Obama invited Canada to join this spring.
The TPP now includes the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chili, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore , Vietnam, Mexico and now Canada. Some economists have argued that since Canada already has free trade agreements with 4/10 of the TPP members we are not likely to see much ‘return on our buck’.
So the question then: Why has our Federal government shown so much interest? Is there a chance that by signing on to TPP, Canada could use the agreement conditions to make sweeping regulator changes in our country? And if the media reports circulating are to be believed (enter “Canada joins TPP” into your fave search engine) it seems inevitable that Stephen Harper’s government will soon announce Canada’s membership.
This from an online feature by University of Ottawa researcher Michael Geist :
“With Canada already surrendering negotiation leverage and few important markets at stake, our participation is less about other TPP countries and much more about us. Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce applauded Canada’s entry into the TPP, (http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2012/june/us-chamber-applauds-canada%E2%80%99s-entry-trans-pacific-partnership-negotiations) expressing the hope that it would force further changes to Canadian intellectual property laws less than 24 hours after Bill C-11 passed in the House of Commons.
[From 2011, NDP MP Andrew Cash points out concerns regarding Bill C-11 CP]
For the Canadian government, the TPP offers cover for major reforms to supply management, the combination of tariffs, quotas and price supports that increase costs for dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey and broiler hatching eggs. The system has been politically untouchable for decades, but using a backdoor approach of mandating change through trade agreement might provide the mechanism to garner the necessary popular support.
While backers maintain that the TPP will open up new markets to Canadian companies, the reality is that the agreement’s biggest impact is likely to come from major domestic legislative reforms that would otherwise face considerable opposition and serious political risk.”
(http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1216011–what-s-behind-canada-s-entry-to-the-trans-pacific-partnership-talks )
So, is this a move towards governmental controls and legislative reform? Time will tell but will John and Jane Q Public even notice when it does? CP
Supplemental– https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp http://www.michaelgeist.ca/
Oct 5, 2015 Joint Statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership from the Ministers of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Today Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, and Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, released the following statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
“The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) announced by the federal government promises significant new market opportunities for Ontario firms, including our aerospace, financial services, life sciences and agri-food sectors. Strengthening ties with Japan — the world’s third-largest economy — together with other Asia-Pacific nations, and expanding market access for our goods and services, are key commitments in the Ontario Budget.
Throughout the negotiations, Ontario called on the federal government to conduct TPP discussions in an open, transparent manner, and advocated strongly to maintain the competitive position of our automotive industry and supply managed agricultural producers. We were disappointed to receive details only today. Ontario requires a more detailed briefing on the agreement to further understand the implications and impacts for Ontario than what has been provided so far.
Some sectors of the auto industry may benefit from the TPP. Toyota and Honda, with headquarters in Japan, are key assemblers in Ontario and critical parts of Ontario’s auto sector. We intend to work with them to ensure that they can seize these opportunities and grow their Ontario footprint.
However, Ontario remains concerned about several key concessions regarding the auto sector, in particular, the tariff reduction schedule and the rules of origin for autos and parts announced this morning.
Ontario is concerned that TPP auto concessions will rapidly expose both Ontario’s auto assembly and parts producers to much stiffer global competition, especially when compared to the U.S. concessions, potentially placing the jobs and livelihoods of many Ontarians at risk. Ontario calls upon the federal government to enact a robust, large-scale, grant-based transition adjustment program for Ontario’s auto sector to ensure that its long-term strength and competitiveness are not weakened by these concessions.
Ontario is home to one of North America’s largest automotive industries. It is a key driver of our economic growth, provides well-paying jobs to thousands, and plays an integral role in Canada’s overall economic success. Ontario’s auto sector contributes more than $16 billion to the provincial economy, supporting over 100,000 auto manufacturing jobs directly and hundreds of thousands of jobs indirectly. New, weaker rules of origin for vehicles and auto parts may negatively affect the industry’s ability to attract and retain investments.
Additionally, we remain concerned about the concessions made on supply management, and the potential for them to have a negative impact on the integrity of the supply management system.
There are more than 5,500 supply managed farms in the province, which earn $3.2 billion in revenue. The supply management system works to provide stability to our agricultural producers, while delivering a safe, quality product to households across Ontario and Canada without a cost to taxpayers. Allowing import flows in foreign dairy and poultry products undermines consumers’ desire to buy local, jeopardizes Canada’s supply management system, and does not provide Canadian producers reciprocal benefits to export.
Moving forward, it is incumbent on the new federal government to engage provinces and industry on what supports are needed to compensate sectors impacted, as well as providing tools to help sectors take advantage of any benefits the TPP may have.
International trade agreements can sharpen Ontario’s competitive edge and create jobs by making it easier for businesses to expand into new markets. We remain committed to working with the federal government on solutions that will help more businesses go global, while benefiting our people and our economy as a whole.”
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Hello,
I think this is a very, very important non-partisan political issue.
I believe it is imperative to get the word out to all Canadians.
I hope The Silo will give it some publicity.
It is about the Canada-China Treaty Agreement.
This is a letter I got from Elizabeth May after I sent an eletter to Mr Harper.
“Thank you for your interest in the Canada-China Investment Treaty. Although Stephen Harper prefers to keep Canadians in the dark about this Agreement’s grave implications for our sovereignty, security, and democracy, I am hopeful that we can force the issue into daylight. Your letter proves that you recognize the seriousness and urgency of what is about to take place behind our backs.
While the Canada-China Investment Treaty will likely be our most significant treaty since NAFTA, Stephen Harper plans to sign it into law as early as November 2nd, 2012, without any public consultation, any consultation with First Nations, any Parliamentary debate, or even a single vote in the House of Commons. I do not accept such blatant disrespect for either the will of Canadians or for our democratic institutions.
Sadly, in addition to the anti-democratic process to approve this Agreement, it is the actual content of this investment deal with which I am most concerned. For the first time in Canadian history, the Canada-China Investment Treaty will allow investors (including Chinese state-owned enterprises such as CNOOC or Sinopec), to claim damages against the Canadian government in secret, for decisions taken at the municipal, provincial, territorial or federal level that result in a reduction of their expectation of profits. Even decisions of Canadian courts can give rise to damages.
Realizing what the Conservatives were attempting to do, in secret and without debate, and realizing that we will be bound by this destructive Agreement for up to 31 years once it is ratified, on October 1st, 2012, I made a request in the House of Commons for an Emergency Debate to allow Canada’s democratically elected Members of Parliament to study the implications of the Canada-China Investment Treaty.
Although my request for an Emergency Debate was regrettably denied, we have not given up and are continuing to pursue all available options to stop the treaty’s approval. Given what is at stake, we hope that you will join us.
In addition to the tools found on our Canada-China Investment Treaty campaign site at http://www.greenparty.ca/stop-the-sellout, I urge you to push back against this sell-out of our sovereignty, security, and democracy, and help to educate Canadians by talking to your friends and neighbours, writing letters to the editor in local and national newspapers, calling in to talk radio shows, and filling up the comment boards of news website.
Crucially, this is not a partisan issue, and it is only by coming together to stand up for Canada that we will succeed in stopping this agreement.
Stand up against the sellout to China | Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca
On September 9th, Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed an agreement with China, theCanada-ChinaInvestment Treaty. The agreement was kept from the Canadian public and Parliament until September 26th, 2012, when it was quietly made public, tabled in the House of Commons. No press release. No technical…more at http://www.facebook.com/TheSilo
Jackie Davies