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Prosperity

Thank 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.

Trade and Sovereignty

Contributor: diana

Date: 2003-01-30 15:34:15


I'm very concerned about the kind of trade agreements Canada is involved in. They make it harder for citizens to protect environmental and human rights they've worked hard to earn, and have angered so many citizens that when countries meet to negotiate their terms there are demonstrations. I'm not against global trade agreements per se, but feel that they should honour the three bottom lines -- financial, social and environmental. I also feel that these should not be negotiated in secret (for example, the MAI was only leaked through the internet -- otherwise the general public would never have found out about them). Since they affect all citizens, we should be informed about what's being negotiated, and have input.

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Trade and Sovereignty

Contributor: OJ

Date: 2003-02-02 02:10:02


I agree that negotiations such as the MAI should have been more transparent. I think that pressure from the public, however, is pushing institutions like the OECD, WTO, etc. to conduct reforms that promote this. That being said, I don't think that NGOs (as many of them argue) should be included at the negotiation table. The negotiating parties at these organizations are representatives of democratically-elected governments. I do not think that groups like Greenpeace or Amnesty should be given the same governing authority in such bodies as my duly-elected government. So yes, I support transparency but in order for accountability to be maximized, the negotiating groups MUST be representatives who are at least indirectly elected (i.e. appointed by elected officials). And on the issue of environment and human rights, many of the agreements in which we are engaged (including NAFTA and GATT/WTO) include clauses that allow contracting parties to enact policies that otherwise violate the agreements for reasons of health, environment, or security concerns. I believe Article XXI of the GATT covers this...don't remember where it is in NAFTA.

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