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The Three PillarsThank you for participating in the Dialogue on Foreign Policy. The interactive web site is now closed. The Minister's report will appear on this web site once it is released. This Forum is bilingual, and participants post messages in their language of choice.
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Contributor: simms
Date: 2003-03-04 13:21:51
I would argue that the second and third "pillars" are incongruous with statements such as "closer to home, the strengthening attachment to democracy in Latin America and the progress achieved toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas create the potential for Canada to become more closely linked with the hemisphere."
The proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) project has enormous potential to exacerbate precisely those inequalities which must now be curbed.
Since the inception of NAFTA, for example, thousands of jobs were lost as a result of the multinational companies' "race to the bottom" in search of the lowest wages available. This has only served to increase the gap between rich and poor (in all three countries involved) by lowering salaries and weakening labour and trade unions.
Furthermore, it is immensely deceitful to speak of promoting "the values and culture that Canadians cherish" while negotiating the terms of the FTAA (and other major agreements) behind closed doors and wholly without public input.
I believe that the government of Canada must therefore be wary of allowing corporate interests to side-track its population's obvious concern for democracy and social justice.
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Contributor: Fleabag
Date: 2003-04-12 01:16:17
If I were puting together a 'political hockey team' I would certainly have you on 'left-wing', simms. Economics and political expediency are two different animals, to be sure. When one tries to introduce values from one to another, one usually gets called names.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but only Religion, Money or Politics do the slinging".
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Contributor: cougyr
Date: 2003-04-12 12:36:44
Sorry, Fleabag, I agree with Simms. These big trade deals have huge problems. NAFTA is a flawed document. What is hard for Canadians to grasp is that NAFTA has not been any better for US or Mexican workers than it has for Canadian workers. The problem is that NAFTA is only concerned with the welfare of trans national corporations. The really important stuff has been left out.
We need international trade deals that include protections for workers, the environment, resources, health standards, culture, the right of governments to pass local laws to protect their citizens, etc.
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Contributor: Fleabag
Date: 2003-04-12 21:30:35
I also agree with simms, as I am also a 'leftist'. There was and is nothing wrong with NAFTA as far as the US is concerned. One sided, in their favour, as usual. With regard to your last paragraph, I can only say that as much as I agree with these ideals, they are totally opposite the concerns of capitalism. Each one undermines profit, and therefore is evil according to Mammon.
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Contributor: codc01
Date: 2003-04-13 14:23:13
I am not a leftist, I consider myself center-right, and i think free trade agreements are good, as they help the world by removing tariffs. The main problem is that what is on paper never turns up to be the reality. And the litigation process is simply too long, costly and complex...
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