Why should Canada discriminate against its own businesses and communities in favor of a free trade agreement with China? Why should Canadian taxpayers have to pay foreign companies if their economic expectations were thwarted by our health, safety and environmental laws?
Under NAFTA Canadian taxpayers, paid millions of dollars in damages to a US PCB disposal firm that claimed a lost profit when the export of PCB contaminated waste was banned.
In 2011 Canada paid $130 million to U.S. based Abitibi Bowater Corporation as compensation for contested water and timber rights over the legal objections of the Province of Newfoundland. Next time you pay your taxes you might want to think about how much of your money will be sent overseas to compensate foreign corporations for their claims.
The issue of free trade is a big concern right now in BC with disease infected salmon farms. Apparently DFO could not test or prohibit the importation of salmon eggs to salmon farms that may have been infected with a deadly salmon killing virus due to provisions of a FTA.
This fact is startling, but if the China-Canada FTA is signed into law by the Harper government the issue gets magnified a thousand fold for Canadians. If the Northern Gateway pipeline is built, it is expected that China’s oil companies will purchase the entire operation. With the passage of the China-Canada FTA, local, provincial and what’s left of federal environmental laws would just be swept aside in favor of economic expectations.
Forget the impacts of any oil spill, for the construction, operation and maintenance of the pipeline itself will be an environmental and financial catastrophe for British Columbians.
I hope our our MP Lunney and MLAs understand this and will oppose the China-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
Sheila Harrington
Lasqueti Island
