The right for democratically elected governments to make policy for local citizens will be seriously compromised.

At both this years Canadian Labour Congress and CUPE BC Conventions in Vancouver, union activists heard about the pending erosion of Canadian sovereignty, democracy, environmental and government services control and social programs delivery.

That is right, pending.

At this moment, and since 2009, the Canadian government has been negotiating CETA (The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) with the European Parliament, negotiating a trade deal that goes beyond NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the WTO (World Trade Organization) , and could be a reality sometime in 2012, if not stopped by Canadians.

This trade agreement contains a dispute process that allows corporations from Europe to directly challenge and sometimes overturn Canadian laws that interfere with profits, for public health or environmental reasons, according to the Trade Justice Network.

Further, CETA’s services, investment and procurement chapters, would give European big business legislation with which to fight Canadian federal,provincial or local public policy and remove initiatives that put good, green jobs and the transition to more sustainable, local economies for Canadian’s at risk all to assist the the European corporations agenda.

For example, CETA would ban the benefits of local outsourcing and local hiring. Municipal services, like water and power, would be restricted in the same way while European P3 (public-private partnerships) would get favor in municipal tendering to the detriment of community and regionally controlled local public services.

“The right for democratically elected governments to make policy for local citizens will be seriously compromised”, Trade Justice Network.

For more information: http://tradejustice.ca/en/section/1