Harper government balks at EU's insistence on human rights guarantees.
by Dave Coles
The good news is that CETA negotiations have stalled. The bad news is the reason for the most recent impasse — human rights guarnatees — which is a damning comment on the Harper government's thinking.
To conclude the Canada-Europe Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations, the Conservatives have been willing to undercut municipalities' right to buy local, grant foreign investors special rights to sue governments and significantly increase drug costs, but they are drawing the line on human rights commitments. According to this week's Embassy, a significant stumbling block to finalizing CETA negotiations with the European Union is a political text that commits both sides to basic human rights standards.
In the Canada-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement the sticking point is a clause giving either side the ability to suspend CETA if the other engages in serious human rights violations.
In the Canada-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement the sticking point is a clause giving either side the ability to suspend CETA if the other engages in serious human rights violations. Ottawa says it’s concerned that this provision could be abused in a trade dispute and that tying an economic accord to human rights commitments unduly impinges upon this country's sovereignty.
Caution is admirable when the government considers measures that circumscribe Canadian sovereignty — but to draw the line on a human rights accord is baffling. The Conservatives, for instance, have already negotiated away municipalities' ability to pursue “buy local” or “buy Canadian” policies.
Last March, the UN released a report examining Canadian poverty reduction measures that suggested these efforts may be “undermined by the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union, currently in draft form, which would prohibit municipal governments from using procurement of goods and services valued over $340,000 in a way that favours local or Canadian goods, services or labour.”
Recognizing this limitation, dozens of municipalities from Nanaimo to Toronto have asked to be excluded from CETA provisions. So far, the Conservatives have ignored their requests.
Dozens of municipalities from Nanaimo to Toronto have asked to be excluded from CETA provisions. So far, the Conservatives have ignored their requests.
According to negotiation documents leaked two months ago, the EU wants Ottawa to give European financial institutions the right to sue over measures designed to protect the country’s banking sector. This would weaken the regulatory environment and increase the risk that Canada's financial system might implode — as recently took place in some parts of Europe and the US.
Another way in which CETA encroaches on domestic policy is by strengthening Canadian patent protections so they more closely reflect EU standards. Although stronger patent protections would be a boon for Europe's large brand name pharmaceutical industry, they will hurt Canadian generic drug manufacturers and drive up public and private health costs. According to the government's own figures, the proposed patent changes will increase Canadian pharmaceutical costs by between $367 million and $903 million a year while an independent study suggests the costs could top $2 billion.
The government's position on CETA seems to be that changes that benefitmultinational corporations are good policy but that nominal human rights commitments are cumbersome or even a threat. What does this say about the Conservatives priorities?
About Dave Coles
Dave Coles is President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.