Good morning.

I am the head of the international trade campaign at the Council of Canadians.

I will make my presentation in English, but it will be my pleasure to answer questions in French.

The Council of Canadians has been keenly interested in issues of free trade since the initial agreement between the U.S. and Canada.

With over 100,000 supporters, we believe strongly that trade agreements cannot be the exclusive domain of industry representatives. Trade agreements impact our regulations, our public programs, our democracies and our ability to protect the environment.

With the rise of global inequality and a looming environmental crisis, our trade agreements unfortunately are often complicit in promoting corporations' rights over our democracies. This is why, during the NAFTA negotiations, over 30,000 of our members wrote MPs to share their concerns about what should be in a NAFTA agreement. Our honorary chairperson, Maude Barlow, wrote 10 guidelines for what should be included in the new NAFTA. Some of our guidelines have been met; others haven't.

First, the good news: In the new NAFTA, the chapter 11 investor-state provisions are no longer in effect between the U.S. and Canada. This provision has cost us $300 million. It has hurt our ability to develop social and environmental policy. Since Canada has been the biggest loser under chapter 11 and the U.S. the largest litigant, this is an important development.

Going forward, this should be the new standard for all our trade agreements. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the recently adopted CPTPP or CETA. As well, the mandatory energy proportionality provisions mandating us to export a quota of energy to the U.S. has been removed from the new NAFTA. That will give us more policy space to meet our G8 and Paris commitments.

However, the fact remains that this agreement gives disproportionate power to corporations. Chapter 11 may be gone, but now a whole host of new rules puts industry voices, or so-called interested persons, at the regulatory table before any of us—the public or politicians—can see the actual regulations. Under so-called regulatory co-operation, regulators have to follow a new series of stringent practices to make rules.

While industry folks may see safety, food, environmental or labelling regulations as red tape, those of us who are concerned about the safety of our products or what we put on our plates or in our bodies may see things differently. Regulators now face industry-positive criteria that hamper their ability to translate our collective will into rules.

Much has been written about the attacks on the family farm and the allocation of an additional 3.59% in Canadian market share for American dairy products. At the Council of Canadians, we are worried about the standard of this new U.S. milk that will be coming over the border. In the 1990s, we successfully campaigned to end the licensing of bovine growth hormone in Canada. This hormone makes cows produce 25% more milk, but at the expense of cows' health. BGH is used in the U.S. and is not labelled.

The new NAFTA also gives protections that can raise the cost of prescription drugs. The deal gives biologics, a new class of drugs made from human or animal tissue, 10 years of data exclusivity. Currently in Canada, we only give eight years of data exclusivity. Biologics are very important. They include drugs like insulin, or drugs that treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer said the cost would be $169 million just in the first year this agreement would be in effect. Just at the time when the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare is recommending a universal single-payer system for drugs, the new NAFTA would raise the cost of such a program. Recently, a number of MPs signed a declaration asking for these provisions to be taken out of the new NAFTA. Luckily, Democrats in the U.S. are trying to get rid of these drug provisions, as well as demanding improved and enforceable environmental and labour provisions, which are currently lacking.

U.S. Democrats have the vote, and as history has shown, the U.S. has reopened the last four enacted trade agreements after they were signed. It is simply premature to ratify the agreement in its current form. Many important changes still need to be made. The idea that this deal is finished is an illusion.

Thank you.

Transcript

Discussions (0)