NOW Toronto: (Stephen) Harper's Colombia cover-up

[marmar]

Harper's Colombia cover-up
How the PM betrayed his own MPs to sign trade deal with unionist-murdering regime

By Andrew Cash


A flash of deja vu hits me as i sit in the beautiful Victoria College Chapel at U of T on October 20 last week listening to the Council of Canadians’ Maude Barlow talk about free trade.

My first awareness of this human rights champion was during the great debate in the 80s over Canada’s free trade deal with the U.S. I can’t help feeling a little nostalgic for that simple time when the story was a bit clearer: you were either for or against closer ties with our huge neighbour to the south.

But Barlow and fellow panellist Sid Ryan tell the almost 200 people in attendance that while 20 years ago there were very few bilateral trade deals, there are now 2,600 around the world.

“You cannot be literate about the economy without being trade-literate,” Barlow says.

Indeed, the Canadian government and the provinces have embarked on a dizzying agenda of behind-closed-doors inter-provincial and international trade deals. Among the least remarked upon is one in process between Ontario and Quebec. Pay attention to this, because the Council of Canadians believes it could leave sub-national governments (provincial, municipal and even universities and hospitals) open to trade challenges from multinational corps.

Such a pact, free trade critics argue, could affect everything from university buy-local policies to large-scale plans like Quebec’s public daycare system. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=171984

[Captain Hilts]

1. Oh to be sitting in VIC's chapel right now. The auditorium I lectured in was

very ugly, but the rest of the college was lovely.

This is an interesting article.