Join me for a public discussion on “CETA, FIPA, TPP: The New Face of Corporate Power.” These events will be part of an eight-city speaking tour in B.C. to build opposition to Canada’s corporate trade agenda (see details below).
The Government of Canada has signed, is negotiating and is hoping to ratify a variety of new corporate rights treaties that promote and lock in the rights of corporations to make a profit while undermining communities’ abilities to make decisions in their own interest. Like NAFTA before them, these deals are not about trade. Every new agreement further entrenches a corporate vision of deregulation, resource exploitation and privatization.
These “next generation” deals include the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations that Canada joined this past December, and countless investor rights pacts, like the one with China, called Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (FIPA / FIPPA).
Opposition to these deals is building. More than 80 municipalities have passed resolutions voicing their concerns or opposition to the CETA negotiations. Nearly 100,000 people signed a petition against the Canada-China FIPA, and the Hupacasath First Nation has launched a constitutional challenge to its ratification. Communities are beginning to organize and educate about the TPP in solidarity with global trade justice movements.
The Council of Canadians is hosting this speaking tour in B.C. to build collective opposition to all of these agreements. In the spirit of the anti-WTO Battle for Seattle and the Quebec City protest against the defeated Free Trade Area of the Americas, we hope to bring our vibrant movements back into the streets to derail Canada’s corporate rights agenda and dismantle the treaties that lock it in.
Event details:
Wednesday, May 22
7-9 p.m.
French Cultural Centre, 702 Bernard Ave, Kelowna (map)
Hosted by the Kelowna Chapter of the Council of Canadians
For more information call: 250-769-1977 or email [email protected]
Friday, May 24
7-9 p.m.
Watershed Arts Café, #11-20349 88th Ave, Langley (map)
Hosted by the Fraser Valley and Surrey/Langly/Whiterock Chapters of the Council of Canadians
For more information please call 604-340-2455, or email [email protected]
Saturday, May 25
7-9 p.m.
CHLY Global Headquarters, 25 Front St., Nanaimo (map)
Hosted by the Mid-Island Chapter of the Council of Canadians
For more information please call 250-729-1254, or email [email protected]
Sunday, May 26
2-5 p.m.
The Labour Hall, 830 14th Ave, Campbell River (map)
Hosted by the Campbell River Chapter of the Council of Canadians
For more information please call 250-286-3019, or email [email protected]
Monday, May 27
7-9 p.m.
Tsolum Building, Lewis Park, Courtenay (map)
Hosted by the Comox Valley Chapter of the Council of Canadians
For more information please call 250-344-4608, or email [email protected]
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7-9 p.m.
Trinity Hall, United Church, Powell River (map)
Hosted by the Powell River Chapter of the Council of Canadians
For more information please call 604 485-5409 or email [email protected]
