Anti-globalization activist and European MP José Bové called a press conference in Montreal on Wednesday.

Anti-globalization activist and European MP José Bové called a press conference in Montreal on Wednesday.
Photo Credit: Radio-Canada

Anti-globalization French activist allowed to stay in Canada

Anti-globalization activist and European Parliament MP José Bové who was denied entry to Canada on Tuesday has been allowed to stay in Canada after all.

Bové, who had arrived in Montreal for a speaking engagement at the invitation of the Council of Canadians, was held up by customs at Trudeau International airport and told he’d have to leave the country today.

Canadian border agents told him that his participation in an anti-globalization protest that resulted in the destruction of a McDonald’s restaurant in France in 1999 was the reason he was being denied entry, Bové said.

The French farmer turned politician was sentenced to three months in jail for the crime but was released after serving 44 days.

Bové said Canadian officials confiscated his passport and he spent the night in a hotel at the airport. On Wednesday morning the EU parliament Green MP held a news conference Wednesday to complain of his treatment.

However, early Wednesday afternoon, Bové said he received a call from Canada Border Services Agency saying he would be allowed to stay in the country for seven days.

Opposition to Canada-EU free trade deal

The Council of Canadians, a citizens’ advocacy group, had invited Bové to speak Tuesday night about his opposition to the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) ahead of a visit to Canada by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

“Following in the footsteps of his colleague, German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, French Prime Minister Mr. Valls will be here to sell you a dream about a ‘progressive’ agreement, but that is simply not so,” Bové said in a statement.

“It is urgent to fight against CETA on both sides of the Atlantic. CETA is a Trojan horse for multinational corporations that seek to use it to bend rules as they wish.”

Thousands of people demonstrate against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in the centre of Brussels, Belgium September 20, 2016.
Thousands of people demonstrate against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in the centre of Brussels, Belgium September 20, 2016. © Eric Vidal / Reuters

The free trade deal, which would eliminate 98 per cent of tariffs, allowing the free flow of goods and services between Canada and EU member states, was agreed in principle in 2014 and is undergoing a legal review.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to formally sign the treaty during his visit to Brussels on Oct. 27.

But it has run into growing grassroots opposition both in Canada and the EU, where it’s seen as a precursor to a much larger free trade deal with the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that is still being negotiated.

German activists have taken their protest against CETA to the country’s Constitutional Court, arguing that CETA runs counter to the constitution and the rule of law, and will undermine workers’ rights and worsen standards for consumers.

The German high court began its hearings on CETA today and is due to rule on the emergency appeal on Thursday. A ruling in favour of the complaint would make it unlikely that Brussels and Ottawa could sign the accord on Oct. 27.

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