Dear Editor
Which of these acronyms do you know? NAFTA? CETA? TPP? What about FIPAs? The first three are trade agreements that include the fourth. To encourage trade, Canada and other countries offer foreign investment protection acts, FIPAs, to reduce financial risks.
Ironically, these protections can work against a country's efforts to protect its own people and environment. For example, an oil company is suing Canada for Quebec's moratorium on fracking, a tobacco company is suing Australia for mandating plain packaging, a Canadian gold mining company is suing Costa Rica for refusing an open pit mine and pharmaceutical giants are pushing FIPAs on India to limit generic drug production.
The investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process uses paid arbitrators; one paid by the company, one by the country and a third by mutual agreement. The decision is final with no appeal process.
FIPAs/ISDS stop being fair protection and start being corporate sovereignty when the process influences a government's decision. In 2011, Australia rejected future ISDS "that would constrain the ability of Australian governments to make laws on social, environmental and economic matters in circumstances where those laws do not discriminate between domestic and foreign businesses."
Canadians would be wise to limit corporate sovereignty, too. On Jan. 31, there will be an Inter-Continental Day of Action for communities to say "no" to corporate "trade" deals. Contact your MP and ask them to withdraw any ISDS in CETA and TPP. Oh, right, we don't know what is in these trade agreements.
Nancy Carswell
Member of the Council of Canadians
Shellbrook
