wild goose chase
Active Member
Do you support it or oppose it? Will it have negative impacts for Canada or not?
Do you think it will likely pass?
Do you think it will likely pass?
Also my understanding is that only foreign corporations can sue the Canadian government in these courts while Canadian ones can't? I still don't really understand who will be ruling on the cases. From my understanding, out of the 3 people on the tribunal, one would be chosen by the defender/government, one would be chosen by the corporation, and the third would be chosen by both? But if the two sides can't agree, it's chosen by the World Bank? The World Bank is hardly unbiased.One doesn't hear much about it because it is negotiated behind closed doors, and it is more secretive than any prior trade negotiations.
I am in general against because of Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause, which essentially says interests of big multinational corporations override the regulations and laws of each individual nations. Under the ISDS mechanism, foreign corporations can sue a national government in international arbitration over a government's actions if the measures have a negative effect on their profits and economic interests. Various measures, including those for public health, national security, environment, food and drug, responses to economic crises, could be challenged by foreign corporations, regardless of whether the measures are for the public interest. For example, if company A intends to sell a certain product or service and Ontario deems it inappropriate and wants to tax or regulate it, it can't, because those "investors" are above Ontario laws, and Ontario government can be sued and fined by people in New York City and Ontario taxpayers will pick up the tab to compensate the loss of that corporation.
I think the TPP is far more than just a free trade agreement. It goes much further than that in effectively creating a supranational organization which puts large corporation's profit above the citizens of each member state. Noam Chomsky describes it as "the neoliberal project to maximise profit and domination". It will serve the interest of the wealthy class and provides a hidden scheme for big companies to avoid regulation and achieve profit maximization at any cost, and no individual, and no government could get in their way. Bernie Sanders, unsurprisingly, has been a vocal opponent of the TPP.
By the way, Hilary Clinton had always been a staunch supporter of the TPP, saying it is the "golden standards" that will create jobs and improve American families' living condition. Yesterday, she turn 180 degrees and warns against this "unfair bad deal" that imposes a tax on America's working families. Sometimes she changes so fast and you wonder whether it is the same person.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11674083
So it seems stateside the tide of opinion has turned against the TPP now, with both candidates being against it as of now. In Canada it still doesn't seem to be a big issue of discussion with the assumption that Trudeau presumably plans to ratify it.
It's dead - though the talk out there is the the death of TPP will be an opening for China to set up a surrogate along similar lines at the exclusion of the US. Canada will be caught in between these two powers.
AoD
Didn't Trudeau campaign to pull out of this? Or at least discuss it in the House.TPP partners reach agreement on 'core elements' of Pacific trade deal. On CBC website
The 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries have reached an agreement on "core elements" of the trade pact, namely that all countries will adhere to strict labour and environment standards, a development Canada is championing as a major breakthrough after talks broke down earlier Friday.
The original TPP, which is currently under renegotiation after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal, included strong provisions that demanded all member countries eliminate child and forced labour, adopt and maintain laws and practices governing "acceptable conditions of work," and uphold the right to collective bargaining.
But some countries, including Malaysia and Vietnam, sought to opt out of such provisions during the talks, something Canada felt was untenable.