Originally a 12 nation deal, TPP talks continue nonetheless even though the major player, the U.S. backed out.

Originally a 12-nation deal, TPP talks continue nonetheless even though the major player, the U.S. backed out.
Photo Credit: CBC

TPP free trade: opposition from Canadians?

TPP talks continue this week in Australia

As the Canadian government continued it’s process of free trade talks known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it had embarked on a public consultation process.   Part of that involved an ability for citizens to express their thoughts on the deal to the government agency known as Global Affairs Canada.

Perhaps to their surprise, thousands of Canadians responded via email, virtually all of the emails expressing concern or opposition to the deal. Much of this came as a result of information campaigns by OpenMedia and the Council of Canadians.

Sujata Dey is Trade Campaigner for the Council, a non-profit democracy and environmental advocacy group.

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Sujata Dey, Trade Campaigner, Council of Canadians
Sujata Dey, Trade Campaigner, Council of Canadians © supplied

According to Global Affairs documents obtained by the Council of Canadians through an Access to Information request, over 18,000 emails were received by the government agency. The agency counts 1,365 submissions not connected with the OpenMedia or Council information campaigns.

Of those emails  only 2 expressed support for the deal.

Dey expresses some surprise at the government numbers saying their figures show over 26,000 emails sent as a result of their campaign alone.

Begun under the former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the TPP negotiations have continued under Canada’s current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shown here with then Trade Minister, now Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, right, during a meeting of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) leaders at the APEC summit in Lima Nov 2016
Begun under the former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the TPP negotiations have continued under Canada’s current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shown here with then Trade Minister, now Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, right, during a meeting of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) leaders at the APEC summit in Lima Nov 2016 . © Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Of those 1,365 “other” emails the government was interested in, concern was expressed over issues like the international dispute settlement mechanism,  intellectual property, sovereignty and corporate power, environment, food safety, public consultation and others.

While some economists have said the TPP is a good economic deal, in a March 2016 interview with CBC, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University said it may the the worst trade deal negotiated saying Canada should insist on reworking things like the dispute mechanism.
While some economists have said the TPP is a good economic deal, in a March 2016 interview with CBC, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University said it may the the worst trade deal negotiated saying Canada should insist on reworking things like the dispute mechanism. © CBC

TPP not dead at all

When the U.S said it would pull out of the TPP talks, most people may be excused for thinking the deal was dead. That was not the case. Canada and the other nations continue to negotiate, but in extreme secrecy and are going on this week somewhere in Sydney Australia.

Trade ministers meeting in Maui in 2015 to discuss the Trans Pacific Partnership Deal. Many people thought the deal would die when the U.S withdrew, Not so. Talks continue this week.
Trade ministers meeting in Maui in 2015 to discuss the Trans Pacific Partnership Deal. Many people thought the deal would die when the U.S withdrew, Not so. Talks continue this week. © Marco Garcia/Reuters

This secrecy is another aspect of the free trade talks often cited by critics of such deals.

Dey says while virtually no information is given to the public or media, business and corporate interests do have access to the talks and to negotiating information. A poll by the firm Angus Reid in early 2016 showed 49 per cent of Canadians saying they didn’t know enough about the deal to form an opinion for or against.

Jerry Dias, head of UNIFOR one of Canada’s biggest trade unions has said publicly that NAFTA has been a disaster for Canadian workers, and the TPP would be as well
Jerry Dias, head of UNIFOR one of Canada’s biggest trade unions has said publicly that NAFTA has been a disaster for Canadian workers, and the TPP would be as well © Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

As to the negotiations , the Council of Canadians released a statement this week saying in part,

“It all very well to consult Canadians about an agreement, but it’s extremely cynical to then ignore everything that people have said to you. No wonder people are so exasperated with trade agreements,” said Maude Barlow, honorary chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “What is concerning is that from media reports, negotiations are heading towards minimal changes to the U.S-led TPP 1.0. So, we will be getting all the things that led people to reject the deal in the first place: lost jobs, higher drug prices, and corporate courts, but with no further access to the U.S. market. The Trudeau government needs to clearly oppose the TPP, not support further secret negotiating rounds.”

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