Dear editor,
Some friends and I stood outside John Duncan’s office in Courtenay on Sunday to protest the proposed Canada-China Foreign Investment and Protection Agreement (FIPA).
I stood up because Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to pass the one of the most dangerous investor deals in Canadian history.
This FIPA threatens our sovereignty and prosperity. This extreme deal would let China’s companies sue the Canadian government in secretive tribunals if they believe we’re doing anything to limit their expected profits, even passing common-sense laws to protect our jobs and our communities.
The investor deal would lock us in for 31 years and pave the way for a massive buyout of Canada’s resource companies,which, given the response to the Nexen sale to a state-owned Chinese corporation, most Canadians apparently oppose.
I care too much about the future of this country to sit idle and let our government make reckless decisions behind closed doors. I felt compelled to stand up and join the growing number of people across the country, and across party lines, who are speaking out.
As our members of Parliament prepare to return to Ottawa for the fall session, we need to stand together to make this a major issue for the Harper government and show them how much Canadians value our democracy and our sovereignty.
You can learn more about this secretive and extreme deal at www.leadnow.ca/stop-fipa.
Terry Robinson,
Courtenay
