Ottawa and Montreal - (March 11, 2013) - Canadian and Quebec civil society groups have sent a letter to French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault outlining international opposition to the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The letter, sent to Mr. Ayrault ahead of his first official visit to Canada and Quebec this week, focuses on the investment chapter and investor-state dispute settlement process in the agreement and comes as negotiators try to finish a deal in Brussels this month.

"We will vigorously oppose any transatlantic agreement that compromises our democracies, human and Indigenous rights, and our right to protect our health and the planet," says a February 5 transatlantic statement, endorsed by more than 70 organizations, and shared with the French Prime Minister. "We urge the EU and Canadian governments to follow the lead of the Australian government by stopping the practice of including investor-state dispute settlement in their trade and investment agreements, and to open the door to a broad re-writing of trade and investment policy to balance out corporate interests against the greater public interest."

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February 5, 2013 

Brussels, Ottawa and Montreal – Labour, environmental, Indigenous, women’s, academic, health sector and fair trade organizations from Europe, Canada and Quebec representing more than 65 million people are demanding that Canada and the EU stop negotiating an excessive and controversial investor rights chapter in the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The groups issued a joint statement today ahead of a two-day meeting in Ottawa between European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast, where the two hope to move the CETA negotiations forward if not to conclude an agreement.

“We will vigorously oppose any transatlantic agreement that compromises our democracies, human and Indigenous rights, and our right to protect our health and the planet,” says the transatlantic statement, endorsed by more than 70 organizations. “We urge the EU and Canadian governments to follow the lead of the Australian government by stopping the practice of including investor-state dispute settlement in their trade and investment agreements, and to open the door to a broad re-writing of trade and investment policy to balance out corporate interests against the greater public interest.”

Full statement (PDF)

The draft trade deal with Canada would threaten European policy and interests.

By Blair Redlin and Stuart Trew, Trade Justice Network

European Voice, July 26, 2012

The European Union and Canada have been negotiating a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) for more than three years, and in that time the talks have barely been a blip on the news radar.

How quickly things change. In early July, a Canadian law professor wrote that the draft CETA reproduced word for word many of the provisions in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which an army of internet activists have convinced politicians across Europe undermines privacy and innovation.

Almost overnight, a once-sleepy Twitter hashtag (#CETA) became clogged with warnings about how the European Commission was using its Canadian trade deal to bring ACTA into force through the back door.

This explosion of interest in the CETA negotiations is welcome: a bilateral trade and investment deal in secret is no place to make unpopular changes to copyright laws. But we hope that the controversy leads to other questions about how CETA would hurt Europe.

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Ottawa and Montreal (May 18, 2012) -- Canadian and Quebec civil society groups have sent a letter to new French President François Hollande reminding him of transatlantic opposition to Canada-European Union free trade talks ahead of a G8 meeting in Maryland, U.S. where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Steven Harper to discuss the proposed agreement.

"Our organizations say NO to this agreement, which has been negotiated for the sole benefit of transnational corporations at the expense of people's rights and of the protection of the environment," says a joint declaration signed in October by over 80 Canadian, Quebec and European organizations, many of them in France. The declaration was forwarded to President Hollande's office this afternoon.

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Debunking the myths about the benefits of EU-Canada free trade

April 25, 2012

There is a lot at stake for Canadian municipalities in the proposed EU-Canada free trade deal. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) would set new limits on municipal procurement, policies and regulations. Having looked into the impacts the CETA would have on their powers, over 50 municipal governments have passed motions seeking more information and a greater say in the negotiations. More than half of these municipalities, including many large cities like Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton, are asking the provinces to exclude local governments entirely from the EU trade deal.

The federal government has tried to pacify these growing concerns in a Q&A-style document circulated to Canadian municipalities. Unfortunately, the information in the document is extremely misleading and in parts inaccurate. It also fails to address many of the real concerns being raised by municipal governments through their CETA motions. The following myth-busting guide attempts to set the record straight for municipal councillors and officials, as well as the general public.

Click here to download the myth-busting guide.

Click here to see the federal Q+A.

On the occasion of an 11th round of Canada-EU trade and investment negotiations in Brussels, the Trade Justice Network and RQIC have sent a letter to Members of the European Parliament on the trade committee, encouraging them to not include an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism in the CETA.

You can read the letter here.

Ottawa, October 20, 2011 -- Today, as a 9^th round of Canada-EU free trade talks comes to an end in Ottawa, over 80 European and Canadian civil society groups demanded that political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic stop negotiating the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and release the offers now.

Read the joint declaration here.

WHERE: Ottawa Public Library Main Branch (120 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa)
WHEN: 3:30 - 5 p.m., Tuesday, October 18

A ninth and possibly final round of Canada-European Union free trade negotiations takes place in Ottawa from October 17 to 21. The Harper government has made it clear that CETA - the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement - is an important part of the Conservative's economic action plan. But at what cost to social, economic and environmental policy? Opposition parties are starting to raise questions about CETA at trade committee and in the media. Meanwhile, public skepticism about the deal is growing in Canada, Quebec and the European Union. Please join us for a free public discussion on the Canada-EU trade negotiations with Members of Parliament. Simultaneous translation will be provided.

Part of the CETA WEEK OF ACTION

WHO

Robert Chisholm, NDP trade critic
Wayne Easter, Liberal trade critic
Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada
André Bellavance, Bloc Québécois trade critic

Event sponsored by the Trade Justice Network, Quebec Network on Continental Integration, the School of International Development and Global Studies - University of Ottawa, and the Institute of Political Economy - Carleton University.

For more information write TJN.RCJ@gmail.com or rqic@ciso.qc.ca

Like we did during the 2011 federal election, the Trade Justice Network sent a CETA questionnaire to all provincial and territorial leadership hopefuls. 

Click here to read our survey.

Here are the letters we've received so far...

ONTARIO

Liberals
NDP