Continuing with the theme of yesterday’s post, I am taking the liberty of reproducing some letters that appear in today’s Star on free trade. They nicely puncture the myth, propagated and perpetuated by the right, of its unalloyed benefits to Canada: Brian Mulroney and the harsh reality of Canada-U.S. free
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Politics and its Discontents: The Legend of Brian Mulroney
Actually, our former Prime Minister is more a legend in his own mind, but then, confronting harsh reality has never been one of Mr. Mulroney’s strong suits. His litigious past serves as ample testament to that fact. But myth is always much more exciting than truth, and what better myth
Continue readingHow absurd has multinational corporate practice gotten? According to the OECD ridiculous
It is really hard being an honest analyst. You spend most of your time being ridiculed by your on-the-take (in one form or another) adversaries. But sometimes the data speaks so loud, and the right political climate evolves, that the stars align and the glaringly obvious dare speak its name.
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: This is your last chance to submit your comment against the…
This is your last chance to submit your comment against the treasonous, anti-worker, anti-environment Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement to the Canada Trade Agreements Secretariat.
The deadline is November 11, 2012.
http…
The Progressive Economics Forum: $12 bil CETA GDP Claim from SimCity, not Real World
This week’s edition of Embassy newspaper contained a very interesting briefing insert on the Canada-EU CETA talks. Below is a commentary from me critiquing the ubiquitous but unbelievable claim that free-trade with Europe would boost Canada’s GDP by $12 billion, create 80,000 jobs, and life incomes by $1000 per family.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: FTA’s Assumed Benefits Can’t Be Found
Last month’s over-the-top “celebrations”of the 25th anniversary of Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan’s signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement seemed strained, to my mind. The self-congratulation and back-patting struck me as rather overdone, contrived even. Remember, this wasn’t the 25th anniversary of the FTA’s implementation (that won’t occur until Jan. 1
Continue readingThe Deadly Myths of Globalisation
What follows is the introduction to a talk I gave at the 3rd Innis Christie Lecture & Symposium in Labour and Employment Law. My sister was educated at the Dalhousie School of Law and I was Lucky enough when visiting her to attend a lecture by Innis Christie. I am
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Globalization’s Discontents: Maude Barlow, the Hollow Men, and the Conversation that’s just beginning
Brian ‘Hollow Man’ Mulroney Brain Mulroney was boasting about his magnificent act in getting the US-Canada free trade agreement signed. What he did not talk about – and probably does not realize – is that he is one the Hollow Men: those who, consciously or unconsciously, set about hollowing out
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Should Mulcair channel Hillary Clinton on the Ballot Box Question?
The 2015 election is already on, with Stephen Harper trying to choose the ballot question as anything but the poor Conservative performance in so many areas, the party’s blunders and scandals, and the fact that deep down so many Canadians still do not really trust his party and particularly him.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Propaganda From Vic Toews
There are two letters of particular note in this morning’s edition of The Toronto Star, one a propaganda piece from our much beleaguered Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, the other from Ron Charach, who seems to possess a certain perspicacity in his assessment of the Conservative government. I am
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Baskin-Robbins and the Walmartization of Ice Cream
It’s been an unusually hot summer, and soaring temperatures have boosted sales of that quintessential summer food, ice cream. But Baskin-Robbins has decided to shut its production facility in Peterborough, Ont., and lay off 80 workers because of…wait for it… increased demand! From the department of “wait, what?”, here’s the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Trans Pacific Partnership: A Few Questions
The Harper government currently lists 18 different sets of free trade negotiations “in play.” (See my recent post on this.) Today the government announced (from the G-20 meetings in Mexico) the 19th: Canada has been invited to join the Trans Pacific Partnership talks. The TPP negotiations were initiated several years
Continue readingCHAPTER 8: The Miserable Metrics of Neoliberalism
Conclusion to Chapter 8 Consistent with the main line of argument in this thesis then, is the proposition that labour market flexibilisation is the other side of the neoliberal policy coin; namely, price stability and conservative fiscal policy all locked in via the globalisation of production and finance. In this
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Promoting Trade and Signing Free Trade Deals are NOT the Same Thing
DFAIT’s web site currently lists 18 different trade deals currently “in play” (and that doesn’t count the Trans-Pacific Partnership, where Ottawa is so far just flirting). But Harper’s push to sign as many FTAs as possible while he has a majority will not improve Canada’s actual trade, which is deteriorating
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Who Wants “Closer” Ties With China?
The Prime Minister’s trip to China last week sparked a flurry of media coverage regarding prospects for “closer” economic ties between Canada and China. Some even speculated that another free trade agreement is in the works (as soon as the Harper government inks its planned deals, of course, with the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Is Labour Doomed?
Last week (Feb. 2nd) I drove up to London, Ontario, to shoot some film footage of the locked-out workers picketing outside the Electro-Motive Diesel plant for a documentary I am working on. The company, the only one to make locomotives in Canada, is owned by Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Gateway is Certainly in Sinopec’s Interests. It is in No way in Canada’s National Interests
Defenceless: Selling Our Sovereignty Glavin’s been writing a series of articles on our retreat from even gesturing in the direction of national security interests in our trade and foreign investment dealings. We are sacrificing both our natural resources and sovereign power in the interests of what is clearly a neoliberal agenda:
Continue readingNew CETA documents leaked this morning.
The Trade Justice Network has in it’s possession newly leaked documents detailing Canada’s initial servicesand investment offers to the EU in the nearly completed free tradenegotiations. The documents, which were previously secret but leakedthis morning by the Quebec Network on Continental Integration have been posted on the Trade Justice Network
Continue readingA Little Juxtaposition on Trade
Canada isn’t the only country the EU has been negotiating a comprehensive trade and investment pact with, parallel talks have been ongoing with India on a remarkably similar deal. So I’ve found it interesting to look in on those discussions from time to time for comparison purposes. It seems there
Continue readingThe Silent Destruction of Canadians Ability to Govern Themselves
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
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