The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling on the U.S. government to revise its intellectual property demands in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal or watch it become "the most harmful trade deal ever for access to medicines in developing countries." TPP negotiations continue this week in Singapore, with Canada participating in the talks for the second time.

The community of Southgate, Ontario is fighting to stop a sewage sludge treatment plant from being built there, beside a wetland and a few hundred meters from the local elementary school. Unfortunately, their Mayor and Council appear to be going out of their way to help bring the plant -- and hundreds of tonnes per day of Toronto sewage sludge -- to the tiny community.

Real democracy requires transparency and when elected officials meet corporate interests quietly, behind the scenes and "in-camera" (which actually means no cameras or members of the public are allowed to know what is discussed) there is no chance that democracy will be served. This is a common occurrence in the battle between the residents of Southgate and their elected officials.

You'll see from our media release that the cities of Toronto and Prince Albert are asking for more information from the Ontario and Saskatchewan governments about how municipalities will be affected by the Canada-EU trade deal. Both approaches offer interesting options for trade activists to re-engage with municipalities that have already passed a CETA motion, or to approach new municipalities that haven't yet.

On November 7, multinational drug maker Eli Lilly (2012 profits: $4 billion) filed a notice of intent to submit a NAFTA investment claim challenging Canada's system for granting patents after being denied one for its ADHD drug Strattera. Ears perked up around the world. As Public Citizen explains in a recent primer on the case, "Eli Lilly's move marks the first attempt by a patent-holding pharmaceutical corporation to use U.S.

According to a short news piece by Canadian Press, "Canada is struggling to maintain the traditional standards it imposes to protect financial services in Canada from foreign control and financial instability." CP obtained a February 1 version of the services chapter of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which was circulated to EU member states, showing that "Canada's vaunted banking system is on the negotiating table."

Canadian Press reports this week that if U.S. Congress cannot sort out a deal on spending cuts, "sequestration will thrust Americans into an age of austerity that threatens to bring to a halt some of the projects envisioned by Beyond the Border." Sequestration, explains the article, "is a massive package of sweeping, automatic spending cuts to an array of U.S. federal departments and agencies set to take effect on March 1." The "age of austerity" part may be exaggerating it a bit, but both Democrats and Republicans agree there is a real problem here.

Since 1996, Dr. Brian Day has been running the private Cambie Surgical Centre in Vancouver. For the past 17 years, Dr. Day has been illegally charging patients and the province and now he's taking the B.C. government to court.

Earlier this week, Burnaby city council passed a resolution to call for a moratorium on fracking. The city itself is not threatened by hydraulic fracturing; however, it has "from time to time advocated on environmental matters which have provincial or national significance." This is the first city in B.C. to pass such a resolution. The full resolution can be found here.

In fact, the motion is clearly a step to bring this to more municipalities and encourage them to do the same. The motion states that "with Council adoption, the resolution could be advanced for consideration in the UBCM and FCM resolutions process at upcoming annual conventions."

So how do you like it, Mr. De Gucht? The Canada-EU trade deal, that is. Not very much, according to news reports of public posturing on both sides of the CETA negotiations.

"What was on the table simply didn't please me, so I didn't make an agreement," said the European trade commissioner (pictured) in Brussels today, as if he were bargaining with a parent over whether or not to eat his peas. In fact, De Gucht was referring to a February 6 ministerial meeting with International Trade Minister Ed Fast that failed to bridge the remaining gaps in the CETA negotiations.

Canada and Norway made their initial arguments this week at the World Trade Organization against the European Union's 2009 ban on seal products. Their performances were immediately attacked by animal rights activists watching the proceedings from WTO headquarters in Geneva.