Canada-European Union Economic and Trade Agreement Draft (CETA) [2010.01.12]

On May 6, 2009, Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched negotiations with Europe toward a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that will go beyond NAFTA in ways that threaten public services and local democracy in Canada. On April 19, 2010, the Trade Justice Network leaked the draft consolidated text of the agreement to start a public debate on the effect the agreement would have on a number of public policy areas in Canada.

While Canadian companies are mostly interested in reducing European regulatory barriers to entry for products like meat and genetically modified crops, European companies see Canada's public services, including water treatment, transportation, energy and even health care, as ripe for privatization. Most of these services are delivered provincially or locally, which is why for the first time the provinces (though not their cities) are part of the negotiations.

Because these services are often delivered through public spending at the provincial and municipal level, the EU is also pushing to liberalize local procurement rules, which will weaken democratic controls over how communities spend public money — controls that currently let communities set their own economic priorities but that would be eliminated in favour of corporate priorities under the Canada-EU agreement.

http://www.tradejustice.ca/