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Letter urges Trudeau to "send the right message to the global community."
Ottawa (08 June 2021) — In a letter sent to Prime Minister Trudeau, the Canadian affiliates of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) are urging the Government of Canada to support a special waiver under the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is an ITF affiliate and signatory to the letter.
The proposal for a temporary waiver is spearheaded by several countries in the global South, and has the support of hundreds of other governments, as well as the World Health Organization, UN Human Rights Experts, and labour unions all over the world.
The Trudeau government continues to reject the waiver
The temporary waiver would facilitate the transfer of technology, and thereby enable greater access to COVID-19 vaccines and related medical products by bolstering production throughout the world.
The letter urges Trudeau to "send the right message to the global community — that Canada will stand with the most vulnerable and champion a people-centred economic recovery that is inclusive and just."
The ITF is a global union representing 20 million workers in 150 countries.