OTTAWA - NDP International Trade Critic Peter Julian secured full support for his motion pushing the Standing Committee on International Trade to hold hearings to review the Buy American agreement which was signed and implemented on Feb. 16th by the Harper government while Parliament was prorogued.

Julian will be calling on expert witnesses to provide answers to many of the questions that Canadian municipalities, companies and the public are asking.

"We seem to have given up a considerable amount of access to public procurement right across the country and these hearings should help determine how much we have given up and how much of the US market we can effectively access", said Julian.

The Harper Government has been very clear in its November Throne Speech. It is moving forward to continue the politics of illusion on international trade.

We have seen the results with the NAFTA and the Canada-US Trade agreement (CUFTA). Since their implementation in 1988, these agreements and their accompanying economic policies have led to lower incomes for most Canadian families.

Accounting for inflation, Canadians earning less than $60,400 have seen a decrease in their average earnings since 1989. About three quarters of Canadian families have seen their real incomes decline. Clearly, free trade has only benefited the wealthy.