Stop The Canada-China Trade Pact
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper signed a trade agreement with China (FIPA -- the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection Agreement) that will allow Chinese corporations to take over Canadian resources AND sue all levels of Canadian government behind closed doors in secret tribunals. Even worse, the China-Canada investor deal is being finalized without a vote from Parliament, even though the agreement gives foreign corporations the power to challenge environmental law. Does this sound democratic to you? Does this sound like a government that has Canadian citizens' best interests at heart?
Most Canadians don't even know about FIPA, and certainly don't know how this deal will impact them. That's the way Harper wants to keep it. His plan is to have this deal sneak through Parliament automatically on October 30th. No votes, no debates, no committees.
We have less than two weeks to send as many signatures as possible to him, letting him know that Canada won't be sold off and that we vehemently disagree with letting Chinese corporations have more power than our own government in our own country.
The China-Canada FIPA will leave Canada's environment vulnerable to corporate corruption in an unfair prioritization of profit over sustainability. We have one chance to make our voices heard -- let's make it count!
Dear Stephen Harper,
Signing a risky and one-sided bilateral trade agreement without even consulting Parliament shows blatant neglect for the democratic process Canadian citizens rely on.
The China-Canada investment deal will leave Canada's environment vulnerable to corporate corruption in an unfair prioritization of profit over sustainability. With our country's history of 157 million paid in investor-rights lawsuits, you would think that giving investors the right to sue Canada's federal government in order to forgo environmental protections would be an obvious case of "history repeats itself."
[Your comments will be added here.]
Not only are Canadians, Canada's government, and environmental rights groups left out of the loop, but millions of dollars in lawsuits will be added to severely neglected environmental policies. According to experts, the China-Canada trade deal won't even significantly impact Canada's business prospects with China.
Don't stoop down to corrupt profits. Sacrificing environmental and democratic ideals is not the pathway to sustainable economic growth.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
