CANADA'S HIDDEN FREE-TRADE DEAL
By Rusa Jeremic
This item first appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Friday, August 12, 2005
Just after midnight on July 28, the U.S. House of Representatives voted
217-215 to approve the United States-Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA), ending a lengthy and often stormy debate. Canada is on
the verge of signing a similar controversial agreement, yet most Canadians
know nothing about it.
Free trade continues to be hotly contested internationally. Even some
leading World Bank economists have begun to publicly question the model.
Over the last several months, CAFTA has come under intense scrutiny and
significant opposition in the U.S., a process has brought to light many
negative impacts of free trade. Before the congressional ratification
vote, the deal was debated in the media, the public and in the corridors
of Washington.
In Central America, the CAFTA debate led to massive protests. As people
made their voices heard on the streets, violence ensued and several
peaceful protesters lost their lives. In Guatemala, during the
ratification period, the right to protest became criminalized.
Meanwhile, here in Canada, our government is quietly negotiating much the
same sort of agreement -- known as the Canada-CA4 Free Trade
Agreement, because it includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and
Honduras -- which calls for the free flow of investment and presumably the
removal of tariffs and agricultural safeguards.
Canadians have just as many concerns about this type of trade as do
Americans and Guatemalans. Free-trade supporters claim these deals open
markets, enabling small economies to benefit by creating a level playing
field for these countries to compete and thrive. Business and government
proponents argue that such agreements bring prosperity and higher living
standards. However, as Mexico's experience under the North American Free
Trade Agreement has shown, wealth generation has benefited a very few at
the expense of a large majority. NAFTA demonstrates how the rights of
foreign investors and corporations come before people and the
environment.
Canada has maintained a close relationship with Central America since the
1980s when we opened our doors to refugees fleeing the war-torn region.
Tens of thousands of Canadians took part in solidarity actions with their
Central American neighbours. Many Canadians would be shocked to learn our
government is promoting a trading model that will likely undermine any
gains for the poor, instead of promoting equitable and sustainable
development.
These days, a Canadian mining company, Glamis Gold, makes almost daily
headlines in Guatemala as it moves forward with a controversial open-pit
mining project that does not have clear local community support and whose
operations have led to massive violence. The CA4's investment rules will
probably end up cementing this corporation's rights over and above
community rights and environmental concerns, making it nearly impossible
to support domestic local economies.
Moreover, small, weak economies like those in Central America need to be
able to safeguard certain agricultural products in order to keep local
markets alive and protect affordable access to basic foodstuffs. Free
trade removes such safeguards.
The continual secrecy on the part of the Canadian government is
frustrating at best. A coalition of churches, NGOs, unions, and others,
including KAIROS, has been meeting with our government for several years
trying to get information about what's in the Canada-CA4 agreement and
what it will mean for Central Americans. At the end of the day, much of
our concern is based on hypothesis because our government refuses to
disclose draft texts or even basic information to the public and even to
parliamentarians. The Canadian government claims its hands are tied
because its Central American counterparts are unwilling to disclose draft
texts.
When Canada hosted the Summit of the Americas in April 2001, more than
60,000 Canadians converged on Quebec City's streets to demonstrate their
concerns about being marginalized from the proposed Americas-wide
free-trade deal, the FTAA, which could have far-reaching consequences in
their lives. Responding to the discontent, the Canadian government
convinced its hemispheric counterparts to agree to some transparency by
committing to release all future draft texts. This was a small first step
in untangling the nuances of free trade, but an important one for any
democratic society.
How can it be that, in Quebec City, Canada managed to influence 34
countries -- including the United States -- to release negotiating texts,
but now claims to wield zero influence over its Central American partners?
Given the magnitude of concern surrounding free trade, for Canada to be
true to its stated commitments on transparency, the government should
disclose all information pertaining to this deal and encourage real public
input and parliamentary debate.
Rusa Jeremic is co-ordinator of the Global Economic Justice Program at
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005