Tuesday 29 September 2015

What do you know about the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?

I didn't. I did some research. I'm trying to relax! I like research.

It is a secretive deal, rumoured to have an impact on Canadian dairy farmers, pharmaceutical access, automobile production.
We know how the safety of Canadians has been impacted by outsourcing.
We know how Canadians have been put out of work through outsourcing.
We know how overseas products can be contaminated.
We know how shoddy goods proliferate the market.
We know how frustrating it is to deal with IT support based in another country, where English is not spoken well by its employees.

Dairy farmers, from both Ontario and Quebec, have begun a protest. I don't blame them. Small farms, family farms, farms feed cities. It's shameful what this government is doing.

Quebec dairy farmers panicked over Trans-Pacific deal - CBC

Sept. 26th - Quebec dairy farmer Réal Gauthier says the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal may make him reconsider whether it's worth it to continue...



They worry about intellectual property laws.

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement | Electronic Frontier ...

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the... 

What worries me most is the  secrecy around it. Of course, one doesn't negotiate in public, yet this is an aspect of the economy that affects employees, employers, consumers, farmers, and yet the government thinks this is a good deal.

The Macleans article is worrisome:
"The battle over automobile production could be epic. 
If all goes according to plan, the government will reveal details later this week of the Trans-Pacific Partnership at briefings in three different cities: Atlanta, Ottawa, and Montreal, which is hosting Friday’s French-language election debate. Should the negotiations in Georgia conclude successfully, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper will take to the stage heralding a new free-trade deal covering 40 per cent of the global economy."

Harper Conservatives hope to have TPP agreement this ...

Sept. 28th - If all goes according to plan, the government will reveal details later this week of the Trans-Pacific Partnership at briefings in three different cities.


Doctors Without Borders has been trying to raise this issue for months and we need to listen to the experts. 
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/.../trading-away...


 

3 comments:

Red said...

With Harper everything is secret. We find out after the fact. we have to get rid of this guy.

William Kendall said...

I do find it rather troubling.

Olga said...

Oh, no!!