Not Another Trade Agreement

Call to Mobilization Against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Tuesday March 5th @ 6:30-8:30 pm
YWCA – 733 Beatty Street
Vancouver – Coast Salish Territories
Free Event – Accessible Space – Child Friendly

In early March the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will continue in Singapore with the Canadian Government at the table. In December of this past year the Canadian Government announced that they would be joining the negotiations with Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. The government, however, provided very little information to the public and negotiations will continue behind closed doors.

Like all trade agreements the Trans Pacific Partnership is a corporate rights pact where by national governments establish new rules in support of multi-national corporations while undermining the will and self-determination of communities. The TPP is one of the largest proposed trade agreements, resembling the Free Trade Area of the Americas which was derailed by people’s movements.

The TPP is one of many trade initiatives championed by Stephen Harper and his predecessors in order to promote market friendly policies that favor the rights of Canadian mining and other corporations as opposed to the rights of people. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the EU, the many Foreign Investment Protection Agreements (FIPAs) and the TPP are all part of this trade agenda.

On March 5th we will be joined by Kristen Beifus from the Washington Fair Trade Coalition who will be providing us with a breakdown of what the TPP is and some of the organizing that has been happening south of the border.

We will also be hosting a discussion about how we can mobilize opposition to this agreement in our communities as we look forward to negotiation rounds arriving in Canada this summer. We are looking forward to recapturing and building upon the spirit, diversity and momentum of the anti-globalization movements from around the world. Please join us.