Little by little through trade and security deals such as CETA and Beyond Borders we are losing the ability to make our own decisions regarding the governance of our country. Yet despite the profound effect these and other such agreements have on our lives we are given no say whatsoever in the process.Even worse,we are kept in the dark, often not even aware that negotiations are being held until they are fait accompli.
One such event happened at the WTO in December where Canada agreed along with the US,EU and several other nations to open up government procurement to competition.
It is believed that not just federal but provincial and municipal procurement is on the table in the now almost completed CETA talks and this agreement confirms that fear as Harper offered them up in this WTO agreement.
New market access opportunities: The EU and U.S. expanded access to their central level entities, including important US Federal agencies. Canada offered access to procurement of its Provinces and Territories. Korea provides access to railway and urban transport procurement and Japan offered access to Public private partnerships and construction projects. Israel committed to phase out its offsets schedules and to lower its construction thresholds.
Slowly but surely,well not so slowly under Harper,in the backrooms of fancy hotels and resorts, our right to govern ourselves is being farmed out to unelected bodies in foreign lands. It is long past time that we put an end to this neoliberal nightmare.
