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Dear Editor,

Re-negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico and Canada are about to begin. As during the initial negotiations of this deal some 30 years ago, it is a closed process and, as before, industrial interests will be well represented; with access to the resources of Canada, companies could be more profitable and NAFTA would benefit corporations at the expense of people and the environment.

There has been little opportunity for people to comment on NAFTA renegotiation priorities; the media gives us the corporate spin of how great it is but very little of what’s in the small print. We don’t know what’s there or how we, the people, will be affected. 

And, it doesn’t look like that’s about to change!  

The Council of Canadians, a non-partisan, non-profit social action organization, believes that trade agreements should be made by and for people, not corporations, and campaigns to make trade deals fair, and trade policy open and democratic. 

In an attempt to help us understand what’s really behind the corporate-friendly spin, the Council has identified things that should be protected including supply management, water, and binding environmental and labour regulations – in other words, our democracy!

To take action and tell Prime Minister Trudeau to stand up for Canada during NAFTA talks, go here: 

https://canadians.org/nafta

Elaine Hughes

Archerwill,  SK