FAIT Committee Report
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DISSENTING OPINION
SCFAIT Sub-Committee on International Trade,
Trade Disputes, and Investment
Report on the World Trade Organization
Svend J. Robinson, M.P.
While my New Democrat colleagues and I acknowledge and value the dedication and hard work of my fellow Sub-Committee members in holding extensive hearings from a wide variety of important witnesses on the subject of the WTO, in a number of important respects we cannot concur with the final report of the Sub-Committee. In some cases we dissent from the conclusions drawn by my colleagues, in others we find that the conclusions of the report do not accurately reflect the evidence heard by the Sub-Committee. Like my colleagues, I want to thank all of the witnesses who appeared before us. Their evidence was of great value for its depth and insight.
Unlike the other members of the Sub-Committee, my New Democrat colleagues and I disagree in principle with the mandate of the World Trade Organization, and therefore we cannot recommend that Canada seek increased involvement with it. The WTO is undemocratic in the sense that there is no parliamentary oversight of its operations, there is no opportunity for the views of concerned citizens to be heard, and its rulings are made by secret tribunals. While this may be acceptable to corporations which seek unimpeded access to global markets, it is unacceptable to those who would retain the primacy of national sovereignty as protection against unscrupulous corporate greed.
In its report, the Sub-Committee has taken some small steps towards addressing some of these concerns. However, it does not go nearly far enough. The following are the key areas in which we believe that the majority report must be changed or strengthened:
- The report should call on the government of Canada to issue a clear statement that it will refuse to negotiate the provision of social services, including health and education, under the GATS. Canada must not allow the welfare of Canadians to be jeopardized by unrestricted international trade. The Sub-Committee heard compelling arguments by Bruce Campbell of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and David Robinson of the Canadian Association of University Teachers that publicly funded social services may be exposed under GATS to foreign competition.
- The report should call on the government of Canada to promote modification of the compulsory licensing agreement under TRIPS to allow developing countries without access to appropriate manufacturing capacity to freely import generic medications. It is unacceptable that lives should ever be put at risk in order to protect the profits of multinational pharmaceutical corporations.
- The report should call on the government of Canada to promote the primacy of Multilateral Environmental Agreements over WTO rules where the requirements of the two are in conflict. Furthermore, it should demand that the government of Canada state clearly that it will never negotiate the export of Canada’s water and will steadfastly protect this fundamental natural resource from foreign corporate interests.
- The report should call on the government of Canada to promote greater transparency of the WTO through the creation of a permanent WTO parliamentary mechanism that would ensure elected officials, citizens, and the global public have meaningful representation.
- The report should call on the government of Canada to promote respect for human rights, including international labour standards, at the WTO, and their inclusion in WTO agreements.
These are the key areas in which we believe the report should be strengthened. Our fundamental concern is with the erosion of democracy, as power is transferred pursuant to so-called "trade deals" such as the WTO and NAFTA, from elected representatives accountable to the public to corporate boardrooms accountable only to shareholders.