Other Election Issues to Consider...

as prepared by Jack Bruce, PAC Chair

WATER:  Canada does not have unlimited fresh water: in fact, most of our fresh water in non-renewable.  It was left over when the glaciers retreated.  While we have given up our energy sovereignty, we have – up till now – kept our water sovereignty.  However, if our federal government were to allow bulk water sales, then under NAFTA* (see SPP below), water would become a commodity and Canadians would no longer have control over Canadian waters.   Over 30 American states are water scarce and would like to divert our waters southward.

            Whether it is because Harper and his government consider water as a commodity to be privatized or they are afraid that water rights could restrict tar sands’ development, the Harper government worked to block a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution to recognize water and sanitation as a human right.  According to a press release put out by the Council of Canadians (March 17, 2008), Canada and the United States are the only two countries to go on record in opposing the right to water.

NAFTA:  NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was the first international trade agreement that allowed corporations to sue governments.  Chapter 11 of NAFTA protects investor rights and allows corporations to sue governments if they feel their right to invest and make profits is infringed upon by environmental, economic, public, or labour policies.  Francis Russell of the Winnipeg Free Press* writes:

Alone among the world’s trade treaties, NAFTA allows foreign investors to sue the Canadian government directly if any public policy or governmental action denies them investment or profit opportunities. To date, Canada has been hit by 15 such lawsuits costing more than $18.5 million with another $533 million in claims pending. This is by far the highest among the three NAFTA partners.

            The NAFTA “court”, by the way, meets in secret without the press present.  The Canadian government has paid companies off before court dates and, I imagine, some of these court challenges and the fear of such court challenges must be having a detrimental effect on policy decisions.  Take Canada Post as an example.  UPS was suing the Canadian government because it claimed Canada Post had an unfair competitive advantage.  UPS has withdrawn its lawsuit; however, the Harper government has since ordered a review of Canada Post.  I can predict what that review will say: Canadians deserve more “choice” when it comes to letter carriers and Canada Post will either be privatized or have its services reduced.

            Of grave concern is that once we offer private health clinics, then under Chapter 11 of NAFTA, we either have to offer all private health businesses access to Canada or risk being sued.  And, as Russell reports on Sept. 24, 2008*, we do have private clinics and the Canadian Government is now being sued:

Now, a group of 200 private investors led by Arizona businessman Melvin J. Howard is planning to use the NAFTA national treatment mechanism to pry open Canadian medicare — often described by neoconservatives as “the last great uncracked oyster in the North American marketplace.”...They are demanding Ottawa reimburse them $4 million in actual costs and another $150 million in foregone profits.

*(http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/columnists/top3/story/4229990p-4871159c.html)

 SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership):   Thanks to the work of activists, the governments of Canada, the United States, and Mexico know that they can not give corporations more power through traditional political channels, such as Parliament, without opposition.  SPP threatens to allow corporations to extend their control over North America.

            The strategy is to claim that SPP is merely trying to “harmonize” regulations so that goods and services can flow more freely between countries.  The fear is that “harmonizing” means reducing labour, safety, and environmental regulations in all three countries. 

The SPP’s exclusivity reinforces the fears.  The SPP is composed of “The North American Competitiveness Council” which is the rich and powerful CEO’s of North America’s biggest corporations; the executive level of government from Canada, Mexico, and the USA (the national leaders, cabinet ministers, bureaucrats, and military advisors); and working groups or civil servants.  The public, the public’s representatives, and the public’s watchdogs are locked out:  members of Parliament, the media, organizations advocating for workers, women, indigenous peoples, the environment, farmers, low income people, and the rest of the public.  The goal is to change as much as possible without requiring discussions in Parliament or raising national awareness. 

 GUEST WORKERS –  The Government of Canada has recently been letting in huge numbers of guest workers, and it’s changing the face of Canada’s job market in disturbing ways.  Guest workers are people from other countries who are granted permission to work in Canada for a short period of time, after which they must return home.  The government calls them Temporary Foreign Workers and employers find them attractive because they are cheap, disposable, and easy to exploit and abuse.    

            Employers in different sectors complain that there’s a labour shortage.  The size of the general labour shortage – indeed, whether such a shortage really exists – is open to debate.  The program benefits corporate and business interests and helps to suppress the high standards of Canadian jobs and wages.   Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have made it much easier for employers to hire temporary guest workers, and much easier for employers to give up on Canadian workers. 

For example, an assessment called a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) used to have to be done to find out if quest workers are really necessary.  The LMO requirements have been relaxed by the Harper government and, instead of proving a six week search to try to find Canadian workers, a week is all that is now required.  In Alberta alone, applications for guest workers jumped from 12 000 in 2006 to 44 000 in 2007, with an estimated 200 000 guest workers in Canada. 

            While the number of guest workers is increasing, the Harper government has done nothing more to ensure that employers treat them properly.  There is no official complaint mechanism for guest workers.  United Nations Special rapporteur Jorge Bustamante has formally requested permission to visit Canada to investigate the program and its abuses.

            One case that highlights the potential for wider abuses:  a private seniors’ residence in B.C. laid off 70 unionized care workers earning just over $20 an hour with good benefits.  A private labour contractor was then hired to provide services at $15 an hour with reduced benefits: no sick leave, no long term disability, no paid vacation, no pension benefits.   None of the previous employees applied, so the contractor was able to claim a labour shortage and bring in guest workers.

            This week, three guest workers were killed in an accident on a mushroom farm in British Colombia that is under investigation.

            The Canadian Labour Congress is calling for a moratorium on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, access to citizenship for guest workers, an appeals process for workplace disputes with employers, a monitoring system, and more.