Trade - NAFTA

NAFTA

Put a cork in NAFTA For years, we have been told that globalization and free trade are inevitable, and that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would bring jobs and prosperity to Canadians. But in the aftermath of the softwood lumber decision, even former supporters of free trade are arguing that NAFTA isn’t working for Canada. Some have called for forceful retaliation against the U.S., while others have suggested that we should get out of NAFTA – before it’s too late.

Regardless of the outcome on softwood lumber, the bottom line is still the same: NAFTA is a bad deal for Canada. It undermines democracy, strips Canada of control over our energy resources, threatens to put water up for sale, and endangers health care and other public services. We want a trade system that protects our social safety net, jobs and natural resources.

In this section, you will find information about NAFTA, and the Council of Canadians’ campaign for a better, fairer trade policy for Canada.

Joint letter to NAFTA leaders dated June 11, 2009 from the trilateral Task Force on Renegotiating NAFTA
“Fifteen years since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into effect, it has become obvious that many of the promised benefits of the agreement have not come to be. As Members of our Parliaments and Congress in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., we ask you, on behalf of our constituents as well as civil society organizations, to consider a new, people-centered fair trade model; we wish to ensure fair trade with quality-of-life for our peoples and environmental protection as first principles of the Americas. We must reshape trade agreements in North America to ensure rising standards of living for our peoples. Unfortunately, NAFTA has aggravated poverty across the continent. It is clear that NAFTA is not working for the vast majority of inhabitants of North America. It has failed on the bottom line. As lawmakers in our respective chambers, we have voiced concerns about NAFTA promoting a “race to the bottom” rather than equitable development in all three countries.” Read more »

ACTION ALERT: Yes, let's renegotiate or abrogate NAFTA!
Obama Reaffirms Promise to Renegotiate NAFTA, Huffington Post, January 12, 2009
Obama and NAFTA, Foreign Policy In Focus, January 9, 2009
Why We Need to Fix NAFTA, Maude Barlow and John Cavanagh, January 1, 2009
Canadians Reject McCain’s NAFTA Plea - Continental Movement for Renegotiation Grows - June 20, 2008, Ottawa
Stop the Bush-McCain Agenda, Stop Unfair Trade - June 20, 2008, Ottawa
Victory! Well, sort of... Council welcomes NAFTA victory while decrying NAFTA rules, Canadian Perspectives Autumn 2007
[27-Feb-08] Harper should join US call to pull the plug on NAFTA, says Council of Canadians
[28-Sept-07] CEP and Council of Canadians say NAFTA lawsuit threatens sovereignty
VIDEO: Steven Shrybman, trade specialist at Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP and Board Member of The Council of Canadians, on suing over NAFTA. Business News Network (BNN), September 28, 2007

Court upholds corporate rights under NAFTA
December 1, 2006 (OTTAWA) – Yesterday’s decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal upholding the constitutionality of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) fails to acknowledge the enormous influence of international trade agreements on domestic policy, law and the constitution, according to the Council of Canadians.
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