Take action to stop Canada-China trade deal

The Harper government is trying to pass a secretive, unfair and sweeping trade deal with China without any public debate. Join with us and thousands of Canadians in calling on the Harper government to stop this dangerous deal.

Ottawa (31 Oct 2012) - Prime Minister Harper signed a dangerous trade deal with China on September 9, 2012. It is officially called the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). He did not tell Parliament or the public about the deal until September 26. Now he is refusing to hold any public consultations or parliamentary debate on the deal.

The deal, which could be ratified by the Harper Cabinet by the end of this week, will have a lifespan of 31 years with no exit clause for the first 15 years. It is the most secretive, unfair and sweeping trade deal signed by Canada in a generation.

The deal will make it a lot easier for Chinese companies to takeover Canadian assets and natural resources and allow these corporations to sue the Canadian government in secret tribunals if they believe our laws or decisions limit their expectation of profit.

And, under this deal, if Canada wants to conserve natural resources (everything is covered) and reduce Chinese access to these resources, we can only do so to the degree that we limit our own use of those natural resources.

This trade deal with China undermines the right of Canadians and their governments to make democratic decisions about our economy, natural resources and environment. It must be stopped.

To learn more about this dangerous deal, and to take action that will help stop Harper's sellout to China, please visit the following websites:

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE