Public country-by-country reporting would require large multinational corporations to publicly disclose where they generate profits, where they employ workers, and how much tax they pay, using data companies already submit privately to tax authorities.

Despite collecting this information, Canada keeps it out of public view, unlike in the European Union and Australia. As a result, $22–25 billion in corporate profits are shifted out of Canada every year with little scrutiny, weakening workers’ bargaining power and draining revenue needed for public services and infrastructure.

WHAT:             Comment on unions’ demands for greater corporate tax transparency

WHEN:             By arrangement

WHO:               DT Cochrane, senior economist at the Canadian Labour Congress 

QUOTE:

“We were told cutting corporate taxes would lead to more investment and better jobs. Instead, corporations shifted profits into tax havens and paid out shareholders, while working families were left behind. Public country-by-country reporting would shed light on how corporations avoid taxes. The data already exists, other countries have acted, and it’s a no-brainer for Canada to follow suit.” —DT Cochrane

-30-

To arrange an interview with DT Cochrane, please contact:  
CLC Media Relations  
media@clcctc.ca  
613-526-7426

The post Unions Call for Corporate Tax Transparency as Billions Shift Offshore appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Last night, the CLC Executive and key unions representing workers on the front lines of Trump’s trade war held an emergency meeting to discuss the urgent need for action.

Minister Steven MacKinnon and government officials were also in attendance.

“Canada must act decisively to protect workers and push back against these harmful policies. The U.S. needs to feel immediate consequences for targeting our economy and the livelihoods of Canadian workers.” – Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress

Labour leaders made it clear: workers should not pay the price for Trump’s reckless tariffs.

The CLC is calling for a full-scale response that includes:

• Cutting off U.S. access to critical Canadian resources—including electricity, lumber, critical minerals, oil, and gas—until the tariffs are lifted.
• Dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs to ensure the U.S. administration faces the consequences of its actions.
• Immediate support for impacted workers, including financial assistance, job protection measures, and transition programs.
• A long-term strategy to reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S. trade, diversifying markets to protect workers from future foreign policy disruptions.

To arrange an interview with Bea Bruske, please email: media@clcctc.ca.

The post CLC PRESIDENT BEA BRUSKE AVAILABLE TO SPEAK FOLLOWING TRUDEAU-TRUMP MEETING ON TRADE WAR appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The post Statement from the Canadian Labour Congress: Standing united against U.S. tariff threats appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The damage from such tariffs will not stop at the workplace. Families will feel the economic strain, and entire communities will suffer as good jobs disappear and opportunities shrink. This is not just a trade issue; it’s about protecting the future of workers and their families.

The federal government must take this threat seriously and act quickly. Workers are demanding leadership that prioritizes their well-being. We need decisive action to safeguard jobs, defend industries, develop an industrial strategy, and prevent working families from bearing the brunt of reckless and unnecessary trade policies.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Canada and workers must be front and centre of any decision from the government.

Canada’s unions stand ready to fight alongside workers, unions, and communities to defend jobs and protect our shared future. In 2023, Canada imported 277 billion dollars from the United States. If the American government triggers a full-blown trade war, it’s workers on both sides of the border who will pay the price.

In the long term, the government must focus on a new industrial strategy for Canada to protect our workers from the whims of any US administration. 

We call on the government to send a clear message: we will not let our workers and industries become collateral damage, we will stand strong, act boldly, and prioritize Canadian workers.”

The post Statement from Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, on Trump’s tariff threat appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“We urge all parties to adopt this legislation,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “Workers and pensioners should not be written off as expendable in insolvency proceedings as they were in the Laurentian University disaster. Canada’s unions have long called for changes to bankruptcy laws so that workers and pensioners are first in line, not last, when it comes to paying creditors and we are pleased to see these proposed changes in Bill C-253.”

After a lifetime of hard work, nobody should have to struggle to make ends meet in retirement. Bill C-253 addresses many concerns advocates have had with the Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA). It amends the CCAA and BIA to ensure that workers’ wages, pensions and benefit programs are funded ahead of shareholder bonuses and payouts.

“In heartbreaking cases like Sears, we’ve seen how these insolvency filings play out, and workers and retirees are left holding the bag,” said Yussuff. “This bill will right those wrongs for future filings, and ensure that workers are treated with dignity and respect.”

Canada’s unions continue to encourage the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to create Canada-wide mandatory pension insurance. This would take worker protections a step further by guaranteeing monthly pensions whenever an employer with an underfunded pension plan files for bankruptcy.

To learn more about what we’re doing to strengthen pensions and Canada’s social safety net, visit canadianplan.ca.

The post Canada’s unions support C-253, legislation to protect workers in the event of company insolvency appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In the years since, global initiatives, primarily the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, have achieved remarkable improvements to health and safety standards and practices in targeted Bangladesh factories. Much more needs to be done to ensure this progress stays on track and to keep improving the working conditions for the women who make our clothes. Safe factories, workers’ jobs, incomes and benefits remain at risk as the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc on global markets and economies. The people at the bottom rung of the supply chain should not have to bear the brunt of the crisis.

The Pandemic

Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest clothing exporter and during the COVID‑19 crisis, hundreds of factories closed as international and Canadian brands and retailers cancelled orders and refused to pay for orders already in production. Factories fired over a million workers and many refused to pay legally earned severance pay. Workers were left with no savings from subsistence‑level salaries and no access to social protection to support them in times of trouble. The forecast remains dire for garment sector workers as global demand for apparel items remains low.

It is of immense importance to build up social protection systems in Bangladesh and other garment-producing countries. Trade unions and labour rights organizations call for strengthened unemployment protection and the respect for all workers’ rights, including the right to organize. Retailers and brands must take responsibility for issues in their supply chains and contribute to a global wage assurance and severance guarantee fund to help workers survive the crisis.

Workers in Bangladesh have been courageously organizing and fighting for their rights for years but need the support of voices in purchasing countries such as Canada, in order to push Canadian brands to rebuild a just economy after the pandemic by establishing more sustainable and resilient supply chains that respect workers’ rights and ensure suppliers pay workers living wages and social benefits.

To learn more about the global campaign to pay workers: #PayYourWorkers

To learn more about the Bangladeshi garment sector workers’ working and living conditions supplying Canadian brands: usw.to/3q6

Extend the Bangladesh Accord for Health and Safety

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a legally binding agreement between unions and brands and retailers created after the Rana Plaza collapse of 2013, led to real change in making death trap factories safe. Since its establishment, the Bangladesh Accord has provided safer working conditions for over 2 million garment workers by carrying out inspections and overseeing repairs and maintenance in more than 1,600 factories. The current agreement will end in late May and action is needed to safeguard progress in workplace safety.

There are great concerns about the functioning of the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), the body that took over Bangladesh-based operations of the Bangladesh Accord. It is voluntary instead of being legally binding and workers hold less representation in its governing body. To prevent the RSC from becoming yet another industry-led voluntary initiative, the brands and retailers who signed the Accord before, including Loblaws (Joe Fresh), must make sure to lay their commitments down in writing again in a new international legally binding agreement. Now is the time for other Canadian brands, such as Lululemon Athletica, HBC, YM Group Inc, Arc’teryx and Canadian Tire, to also sign on to a new Accord. Brands and retailers must act now to protect progress and ensure an incident like Rana Plaza never happens again.

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

A company’s responsibility flows through its entire corporate structure, including its business relationships and through its entire supply chain.

The Government of Canada must legislate companies to respect human rights in their global operations and supply chains. Such legislation should require companies to conduct due diligence on their human rights and environmental risks, take appropriate steps to prevent and mitigate such risks and hold companies accountable in the courts if they abuse human rights.

Action:

Support workers in Canadian supply chains by writing to Canadian companies Lululemon Athletica and YM Group to contribute to a Severance Guarantee Fund. Email and/or send a tweet to the CEO of Lululemon and the YM Group.

Endorsed by:
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Centre international de solidarité ouvrière
Inter Pares
Maquila Solidarity Network
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
Oxfam Canada
Public Service Alliance of Canada
United Steelworkers
Workers United Canada Council

The post Remembering the victims of the Rana Plaza disaster appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In its ongoing negotiations on the Mercosur trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Canada must ensure the agreement contains enforceable provisions that uphold environmental protections, labour and Indigenous rights.

Increased North American and European market access for Brazilian beef, soy and other agricultural products has been a primary driver behind the fires and deforestation of the Amazon, made increasingly possible by the Bolsonaro government’s attempt to dismantle environmental and Indigenous protections. 

Any trade deal reached with Mercosur must ensure that such kinds of environmental, labour and human rights violations are halted through the inclusion of enforceable provisions in the agreement and a complaint system that allows concerned citizens to initiate inquiries where violations are suspected. Furthermore, future rounds of negotiations with Mercosur must be made transparent to the public, allowing citizens to monitor the process and ensure that effective environmental protections are enshrined in any agreement that is ultimately ratified. 

Canadian labour stands in solidarity with our Mercosur sisters and brothers in ensuring the global protection of human, environmental and labour rights.

The post Global Day of Action for the Amazon appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Workers across the country will be happy to learn that NAFTA’s Chapter 11 has finally been eliminated from this trade agreement,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “Decades of unfairness have cost Canada over $300 million in penalties and fees and made it clear that the investor-state dispute settlement clause was working against our national interest.”

Canada’s unions are also pleased to see the side agreements on labour moved into the main agreement, now subject to a state-to-state dispute resolution process. “The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender,” said Yussuff.

Protections for the Canadian auto industry, including exemptions from tariffs and labour value requirements, were welcomed. The agreement also maintains exemptions for cultural industries and expands these to include digital industries.

Intellectual property provisions will be strengthened under this new agreement, extending pharmaceutical drug patent protection to 10 years. “Drug costs will rise as a result of this deal. Now more than ever, Canada needs a universal, single-payer prescription drug program to cancel out the impact of mounting costs on Canadian families,” said Yussuff.

Access to Canadian dairy was a focus through the negotiations. Under the new USMCA, US dairy producers will have access to 3.59% of Canada’s domestic milk market. “The federal government must take necessary measures and provide compensation to workers who will be negatively impacted by these concessions. Canada’s unions are concerned and seeking more details on provisions around egg and poultry exports and imports,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff expressed disappointment that the elimination of US tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products was not part of the new agreement. “The illegal steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the US earlier this year should have been lifted with this agreement, and I urge the Canadian government to redouble its efforts to eliminate these tariffs,” he said.

Read the 13 facts you need to know about USMCA here.

The post Along with key gains in the USMCA, Canada’s unions raise concern appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

On the first anniversary of CETA’s implementation, trade unions on both sides of the Atlantic are warning that the trade deal is not a ‘model’ agreement and say it is time for an immediate review.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) are calling on European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Canadian Trade Minister Jim Carr to address the European Commission’s refusal to reinforce the enforceability of CETA’s labour rights provisions. This situation persists despite requests from trade unions and from the Canadian Government. The two senior officials are set to meet in Montreal on September 26 and 27.

“CETA was presented as a new model trade deal,” said Liina Carr, ETUC Confederal Secretary. “But the European Commission is refusing to address the legitimate concerns of working people. Labour rights are still not as enforceable as are investors’ rights. Furthermore, we are still waiting for EU trade policy to promote decent jobs, protect and enhance labour rights, and protect public services. The EU needs to deliver the change it promised.”

“Without effective and enforceable rules for labour and environmental provisions in trade agreements, there is no progressive trade,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “The EU government must honour its international labour obligations and enforce respect of the CETA provisions with binding and enforceable penalties for violations against workers.”

Amidst massive public protests at the time, CETA was adopted with a ‘Joint Interpretative Instrument’ intended to reassure citizens about its impacts on environmental and labour standards. This agreement included a promise to start an early review of the trade agreement – which still hasn’t taken place to date.

The post Canadian and European trade unions: EU not following through with promises on CETA review appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

CETA has been provisionally applied since September 2017. Both the EU and Canada agreed to an early review “with a view to the effective enforceability of CETA provisions on trade and labour and trade and the environment” as stated in the Joint Interpretative Instrument (JII) at point 10.[1] However, no progress has been made in this regard.

In July 2017, the European Commission launched a consultation on the implementation and enforcement of Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters in EU Free Trade Agreements. The ETUC replied to the consultation in October 2017. The Commission eventually issued a paper outlining 15 action points to revamp the TSD chapter. However, the ETUC deeply regrets that the Commission has brushed away the possibility of introducing a sanction mechanism in the case of persistent breaches of labour rights within EU trade agreements, as has been consistently proposed by the ETUC and other stakeholders.

We note that Canada has been committed to a sanctions-based approach regarding labour rights in its free trade agreements. The EU’s inaction in reviewing CETA is already undermining effective enforceability of labour rights by Canada in third countries with which the EU and Canada have free trade agreements. The EU should finally start to engage seriously to ensure that commitments made by both parties in the TSD chapter to respect core ILO standards and promote the Decent Work agenda become effectively enforceable.

The EU cannot continue to delay reviewing the TSD chapter. Commitments were made by the EU and Canada in the JII to pursue fairer and more progressive trade and investment agreements. The ETUC and CLC call on the EU to join Canada and honour the commitment taken in the JII and start the review of the trade and sustainable development provisions as soon as possible.

The post CLC – ETUC joint statement on the trade and sustainable development chapter in CETA appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

• Chapter 12 of the TPP, which gives corporations the ability to bring employees to Canada en masse, without any requirement that they be paid fairly;
• That it allows employers to transfer skilled trades and technical employees to Canada with no requirement that they attempt to hire within Canada first;
• That the deal’s labour provisions have no teeth and provide no guarantees that basic workers’ rights will be protected or that workers will be able to exercise their rights to form a union and to engage in collective bargaining;
• That the deal will mean massive job losses in Canada’s auto sector because it eliminates any incentive to manufacture vehicles in Canada and increases the incentive to source auto parts from low-wage non-TPP nations. No side deal can improve Canada’s auto exports to Japan; and
• That it will undermine efforts to combat climate change. Investor-state dispute mechanisms allow corporations to challenge environmental regulations and could put a chill on governments trying to fight climate change.

Yussuff says it isn’t clear yet whether the new deal will protect the Canadian dairy market. 250 million liters of milk, and the production jobs that come from that, are at risk annually.

The post Canada’s unions unite in protest over TPP trade deal announcement appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

As part of its ongoing monitoring and assessment of developments in the enduring conflict in the Middle East, the Canadian Labour Congress reaffirms its support of a peace-building process between Israel and Palestine through the establishment of two sovereign nations. The CLC joins those who support the vision of two nations co-existing in peace and security, within safe borders, free from occupation.

There is international consensus that direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine are the only viable avenue to resolution of the conflict. At the Paris Peace Conference in mid-January this year, more than 70 countries, including Canada, warned that the two-state solution is under threat and encouraged both sides in the conflict to resume talks.

Unfortunately, there is serious concern that any immediate resumption of direct talks has been jeopardized by Israeli government policies that have been found to be in contravention of international law. These include aggressive settlement expansion and demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the fragmentation and economic isolation of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, the blockade of Gaza, and the endurance of the separation wall. Ongoing eruptions of violence against civilians by either side have further derailed diplomatic efforts.

The new U.S. administration’s endorsement of the settlements and intentions to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem also imperil the likelihood of renewed talks.

In the context of attacks on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, the CLC will continue to defend freedom of speech and the right to legitimate protest.

Despite the challenges, the Government of Canada still has a significant role to play to advance a just and peaceful two-state solution in the Middle East.

The CLC appreciates that the government has reinstated funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), cancelled under the Harper government in 2010.

The CLC supports the recognition of the State of Palestine and notes that 137 member states of the United Nations have already recognized Palestinian statehood.

If Canada is truly committed to a two-state solution, the government must acknowledge the current stalemate and go beyond a diplomatic status quo to unequivocally recognize the State of Palestine.

The CLC reaffirms the principles adopted in its 2011 Statement on Israel-Palestine (attached) outlining support for the many UN Security Council Resolutions, which have recognized the 1967 borders of Israel and Palestine, called for an end to the occupation and illegal settlements and are aimed at a fundamental achievement of a just and lasting peace.

Background: In 2011 the CLC adopted the statement on Israel-Palestine, approved by the Executive Council in March and adopted by the CLC National Council in November. The statement outlined support for UN Security Council Resolution 242, which recognizes the 1967 borders of Israel and Palestine, and Resolution 338, which is aimed at a fundamental achievement of a just and lasting peace.

The post CLC Statement on Israel-Palestine appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Unions campaigned long and hard for a ban on asbestos to make workplaces and public spaces safer for all Canadians, but also people around the world who were being exposed to asbestos,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

The World Health Organization declared asbestos a human carcinogen in 1987. However, for many years Canada continued to bolster asbestos exports by downplaying the dangers of the carcinogen internationally. The Harper government even went so far as to block the addition of chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention Prior Informed Consent (PIC) list – a position that was roundly criticized by Canada’s unions, health and safety advocates, and the international community.

Today, federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced that her government will advocate for the inclusion of chrysotile asbestos in the Rotterdam Convention at the upcoming eighth meeting at the Conference of the Parties in Geneva next week. The Canadian Labour Congress will be sending a delegation to Geneva to call on the international community to support the listing of chrysotile as well.

“We worked with the government last year to secure a comprehensive ban on the import and export of asbestos here in Canada, and we are encouraged to see Canada taking international leadership on this issue. We hope this will help countries around the world make better decisions, more fully informed about the true dangers of asbestos,” Yussuff added.

The post Unions applaud Canada’s international advocacy against asbestos appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Union leaders and activists in Colombia have experienced significant danger in trying to exercise their basic rights. It is important to see this report finally acknowledge that prevailing context of anti-union hostility, intimidation and threats,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

The report found significant evidence of failure on the part of the Government of Colombia to comply with its obligations under the CCOALC and confirmed long-standing complaints of violence and intimidation used to restrict workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The CLC applauds the report’s recommendations to better fight abuses by calling for timely and efficient investigative practices and trials for perpetrators of violence against union leaders and activists. Significantly, the report calls for a critical and independent examination of the role of the Colombian riot police, the ESMAD, whose actions have been internationally criticized for the excessive use of force.

Other key recommendations in the report include measures to promote freedom of association and free collective bargaining; improved labour legislation; and stronger compliance with and enforcement of labour law, including empowering labour inspectors to eliminate misuse of labour intermediation.

Now that this report has confirmed the issues raised by Colombian and Canadian unions, the CLC is urging Labour Minister Patty Hajdu to act quickly and seek consultations with her Colombian counterpart.

“Colombian and Canadian unions are ready to be involved in the implementation of the report recommendations,” Yussuff said. “We look forward to working with both governments to address these issues and build stable and just labour relations in Colombia.”

The post Report vindicates Colombian unions in their struggle for basic workers’ rights appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In a statement sent to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland today, the Canadian Labour Congress points out that over the last 20 years, NAFTA has failed working Canadians.

“Far from generating good jobs and prosperity, NAFTA has undermined secure, well-paid employment and devastated manufacturing and processing industries and the communities that depend on them,” reads the statement. “While there has been increased trade and economic growth, large corporations and investors have gained the most, leaving workers behind.”

The statement, which comes out of talks that brought together representatives from civil society and private and public sector unions representing workers across industries and services, proposes nine reforms essential to any renegotiation:

• Labour and environmental side agreements must be fundamentally strengthened by bringing them into the main agreement and making them subject to trade sanctions.
• NAFTA’s Chapter 11 dispute mechanism, which grants special rights to foreign investors and allows corporations to sue governments, must be abolished.
• Investment and employment in key goods-producing sectors should be proportional across borders, requiring multinational corporations to produce goods where they sell.
• Canada must safeguard access to high-quality, locally-produced food, small family farms and rural communities by protecting supply management.
• Existing public services, as well as new public services, such as any new national pharmacare program, must be protected.
• The softwood lumber dispute must be fairly resolved.
• Any new deal must make strategic and effective use of government procurement for Canadian economic development goals.
• Sectors currently exempt from NAFTA must not be included in any new negotiations.
• Canada’s unions and civil society organizations must be at the table, involved in discussions, from the outset.

“Canada’s unions are determined to work with our allies to ensure that any new trade deals are fair and protect workers’ rights, public services, the government’s right to regulate in the public’s interest, and our environment,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

The full statement is available here.

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The video tells the story of an agricultural worker who must leave her home and family behind to work long hours in isolated and dangerous conditions – a situation faced by many migrants entering through Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). It asks Canadians to take a minute to think about the migrant workers who harvest our food, care for our children and elderly relatives, and perform many other jobs in our communities.

Migrant workers come to Canada with a hope of earning a better future for themselves and their families. They pay income taxes, and contribute to EI and CPP. But those coming through the TFWP – 91,211 people in 2015 – do not receive the same rights or protections as other workers in Canada.

Canada’s unions believe that no matter where you’re from, if you work in Canada, you should be treated fairly. In collaboration with migrant worker organizations, unions support programs that educate and empower migrant workers. They also advocate for policy change.

A fair future for migrant workers must include:

• A pathway to permanent resident status for all migrant workers who want to stay in Canada;
• Legislation to protect migrant workers’ human and labour rights, including the right to join a union;
• A system to enforce those rights and prevent exploitation; and
• Empowerment through access to justice, services and information.

To learn more about how unions support migrant workers’ rights, visit: http://www.fairnessworks.ca/migrant-workers/

December 10^th is International Human Rights Day.

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Presentation by the Canadian Labour Congress to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade regardint he TPP public consultations

On behalf of the 3.3 million members of the Canadian Labour Congress, we want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to present our views on the impact on Canada of a possible Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

I want to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation of your willingness, and that of Minister Freeland and your government, to sustain an open and frank dialogue regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiated under the previous administration.

It is a deeply flawed agreement, and our view is the costs of the TPP outweigh the limited benefits that might arise from the deal.

Proponents of the deal only expect it to boost Canada’s GDP by about 0.5 per cent – ten years down the road.

That’s about as much as the previous administration promised to pay the dairy industry in compensation for TPP losses.

This leaves nothing to cover losses to the auto sector and other areas.

A key study from Tuft’s University predicts that workers in all 12 TPP countries would lose out because the TPP would increase income inequality.

This flawed agreement is about protecting multinational corporation’s rights. It does nothing to help workers or the environment.

The two sectors with the most to lose are the auto sector and the dairy sector, but I also want to touch on our concerns about the provision of public services, rising drug costs, and investor challenges to environmental regulations.

The automotive sector

The automotive sector is centrally important to Canada’s research and development, high value-added production and manufacturing exports. In 2014, approximately 40,000 Canadians worked in motor vehicle manufacturing and another 70,000 in parts manufacturing.

A five-year phase-out of tariffs on Canadian imports of Japanese vehicles will quickly eliminate the incentive to manufacture in Canada and encourage Japanese assemblers to import vehicles.

Unifor has estimated that the TPP could lead to the loss of 20,000 jobs in the auto sector alone.

The dairy sector

The Canadian dairy sector provides high-quality, locally-produced food while supporting small family farms and rural communities. Under the TPP agreement, foreign dairy producers will be able to access an additional 3.25 per cent of Canada’s 2016 dairy milk production. This comes at a time when the dairy industry is already under considerable stress – 250 million litres of milk and subsequent production jobs are at risk annually.

Investor State Dispute Settlement

We have many concerns with the model of Investor State Dispute Settlement.

By now, the problems with this model of dispute settlement are well-known: the unaccountable and ad hoc nature of the arbitral panels; their expansive definition of what constitutes an investment; the fact that they do not operate in subsidiarity to national court systems, but above them; the apparent lack of deference to the prerogatives of governments, or even to national jurisprudence on any given issue.

Public Services

The TPP chapter on public services locks in the current level of privatization with so-called ‘ratchet’ and ‘standstill’ clauses, and makes it more difficult for governments to introduce new public services, such as pharmacare or child care without subjecting themselves to an ISDS claim. Canada already has the second highest per capita drug costs in the world, and the TPP will further constrain efforts to reform prescription drug purchasing and provision in Canada.

Environment

The TPP also contains broad prohibitions on economic or environmental performance requirement, such as requiring technology transfer or local sourcing to foster green industry.

Such restrictions will serve as a “chill” on governments contemplating steps required to make the transition toward a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.

It is time to come back to more reasonable forms of investor protection which should be subsidiary to national judicial processes, should privilege state-to-state settlements, and should emphasize investors’ responsibilities just as much as the protection of their assets.

Conclusion

We have called on the federal government to conduct its own impact analysis of the TPP, and to make this analysis public. In closing, I want to ask the committee today if you have requested a thorough study or analysis from Global Affairs Canada, and if you have not I would like to recommend that you do so.

Given the high economic and political stakes, Canadians deserve no less than a full and substantive discussion on the potential consequences of this draft agreement.

The post Government must stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Colombia has long been one of the most dangerous countries in the world to exercise labour rights. Since the Canada-Colombia Labour Cooperation Agreement (LCA) has been in force, conditions for Colombian workers have actually gotten worse in many industries. Workers attempting to exercise their rights have suffered at least 1,466 threats and acts of violence, including 99 assassinations, 6 kidnappings and 955 death threats,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

Human rights abuses in Colombia were so rampant that before signing agreements, both the US and Canadian government pushed the Government of Colombia to enact new laws and policies to protect workers. However, the evidence shows that abuses continue. Illegal forms of outsourcing and subcontracting have increased 10 percent. No one has been convicted for criminal violations of freedom of association, and discrimination against trade unionists continues.

Canadian companies operating in Colombia are not above these practices. For example, Pacific Rubiales is a Canadian-based extractive company registered in Colombia as Meta Petroleum Corp. In 2011, Colombian unions report Pacific Rubiales dismissed 1,100 workers for trying to unionize to address issues like health and safety. There are also reports of Colombia’s anti-riot police (ESMAD) being used to intimidate workers and violently suppress pro-union gatherings.

In a public submission to government, the CLC and three Colombian union confederations ask that the Government of Canada invoke ministerial consultations to ensure the Government of Colombia “takes all measures necessary to amend its laws, regulations and procedures in accordance with ILO fundamental labour rights and address the legal, institutional, and practical obstacles to the effective enforcement of labour laws and access to justice.”

“The Canadian government cannot continue to stand by Colombia as a privileged trading partner while these human rights abuses occur,” Yussuff added.

The post Canadian unions stand against worker rights abuses in Colombia appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“By adopting the changes we propose, Canada and European countries have an opportunity to make the promise of a ‘gold standard’ trade agreement a reality,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

Europeans have had some opportunity for debate, leading to some amendments to the deal’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions. But the CLC and ETUC say more debate is needed on both sides of the Atlantic.

“At a time of growing inequality, economic instability and an undeniable climate crisis, all trade agreements must reflect that reality,” said Yussuff.

“That’s why we hope that recent amendments signal a willingness to do the work now, before it’s put to a vote, to ensure CETA will benefit local and national governments and their citizens in the long term,” he added.

Five changes needed to the CETA

1. Remove investor courts and ISDS mechanisms

Foreign investors cannot be granted special privileges not granted to domestic investors. The investor court system currently proposed still gives foreign investors remedies that would not be available to them under any domestic court system in Europe or Canada. There is no need for investor court systems or ISDS mechanisms between countries with fully developed and effective court systems.

2. Uphold labour rights

The proposed text lacks mechanisms for enforcing labour rights. CETA encourages – but does not require – participating countries to ratify and fully implement ILO core labour conventions. If participating governments really want CETA to be the gold standard for trade agreements, violations of its labour provisions must be subject to sanctions.

3. Build in review

The final agreement should require a full review of the merits and effectiveness of both the investment and labour provisions within five years of ratification.

4. Protect public services

CETA must contain a “positive list” for its service commitments and no ratchet or standstill clauses so that public services are fully excluded from the deal. Currently CETA uses a “negative list”, requiring countries to list services they want excluded from the deal. This means that new or emerging areas of services, such as pharmacare or child care, would be automatically subject to the agreement. No responsible government can reasonably commit to privatization to default. Instead, a “positive list” would better protect the public interest by allowing countries to specify which services would be covered by the agreement.

As it stands, even when countries choose to protect specific public services by including them in reservations under “Annex 1”, they are subject to so-called “standstill” and “ratchet” clauses. This means existing privatization is locked-in and public ownership cannot be expanded. In combination with the investor-state provisions, these clauses could prove to be a real and costly obstacle to future governments, at all levels, that may want to increase public involvement in services.

5. Protect local governments

Local governments must maintain the right to attach social, economic and environmental conditions to public procurement. As it stands, CETA calls for “unconditional” access at all levels of government. This is excessive and unprecedented. Governments use public procurement to promote the public interest, by, for example, creating local jobs, providing training for local workers, promoting affordable housing, supporting local business and protecting the environment. If ratified as is, CETA will curtail local governments’ rights. This is especially troubling while governments everywhere are being called on to fight climate change and address economic uncertainty.

The post European and Canadian unions call for changes to CETA appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Last week, Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff, and several other Canadian union leaders met with Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland to express serious concerns about the deal.

“We made it clear that Canadians must be fully informed and have their say before there is any talk of ratification,” said Yussuff.

In a subsequent letter to Minister Freeland, Yussuff provided a detailed list of Canadian unions’ concerns with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, including the following major threats:

Corporations get more power to sue; workers remain largely unprotected

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is a provision in many trade agreements, which allows massive corporations to directly sue democratically-elected governments, in an unaccountable system separate from national courts, in order to protect and expand their profits.

For example, Canada is currently being sued by drug company Eli Lilly for $500 million after our courts refused to extend patents on several of their drugs.

While corporations are given more rights, workers’ rights remain almost totally unprotected under multinational trade agreements like the TPP. For example:

• Chapter 12 of the TPP gives corporations the ability to bring employees to Canada en masse, without any requirement that these workers be paid fairly;
• Employers will be able to transfer skilled trades and technical employees to Canada, with no requirement that they attempt to hire within Canada first;
• The labour provisions of the TPP have no teeth and provide no guarantees that basic workers’ rights in TPP partner countries will be protected and that workers will be able to exercise their rights to form a union and to engage in collective bargaining.

Since the early 1990s, as international trade agreements have proliferated, work has become more precarious, income inequality has grown, and corporations have found more ways to escape responsibilities to treat workers fairly. The TPP will only make things worse. A simulation by Tufts University using the UN Global Policy Model projects greater income inequality in every TPP country by 2025 as a result of the agreement.

If the goal behind the TPP is to improve our global economy, we need to end the flawed experiment with ISDS. It’s time to rebalance the “investor protection” process and ensure companies’ responsibilities – to treat workers fairly and protect the environment – are emphasized just as much as the protection of their assets.

Massive Job Losses in Automotive Manufacturing

In 2014, approximately 40,000 Canadians worked in motor vehicle manufacturing and another 70,000 in parts manufacturing. A study by Unifor found the TPP could lead to the loss of 20,000 jobs in the Canadian auto sector alone by:

• Quickly eliminating any remaining incentive to manufacture vehicles in Canada, favouring imports from Japan; and
• Increasing the incentive for companies to source auto parts from low-wage non-TPP nations, discouraging engine and transmission manufacturing in North America.

Canadian dairy farms under threat

Our country’s supply management system ensures Canadians have access to high-quality, locally-produced food while supporting small family farms and rural communities. Unfortunately, Canada’s has been importing more and more dairy since 2006. The TPP will give foreign dairy producers an even bigger share of our dairy market. 250 million liters of milk, and the production jobs that come from that, are at risk annually.

While dairy farm owners (but not workers) have been promised a 15-year compensation package, it’s clear the TPP will only hasten the decline of Canada’s dairy industry.

Lower Food Safety Standards

The TPP makes it harder for the Canadian government to introduce new or maintain existing regulations such as safety standards, even when they are in the public’s interest.

For example, Canada’s food safety system currently bans the sale of products containing bovine growth hormone. Under the TPP, our ban on bovine growth hormone, and other regulations designed to protect consumers, could be challenged as a “trade barrier.”

Higher Prescription Drug Costs

Canada already has the second-highest per capita drug costs in the world. The TPP gives even more monopoly patent protection to drug companies than they currently have, meaning it will take longer for Canadians to access cheaper, generic versions of drugs. The TPP’s concessions to drug companies could see Canadians pay over $800 million annually in increased drug costs.

In addition, the TPP:

• Locks Canada into its current level of privatization and commercialization, preventing public innovation, such as the introduction of a universal, national, public pharmacare program; and
• Gives large drug companies even more power to sue our governments if their patented drugs are excluded from government pharmacare plans.

Companies could prevent countries from fighting climate change

By virtue of the TPP and previous trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), government can no longer attach conditions to procurement contracts to foster local economic development or ensure environmental standards. Therefore, governments may be restricted from demanding local hiring, the purchase of local products or requiring workers to be paid industry wages.

This restriction will likely mean that governments will not be able to maximize the job spinoff of large infrastructure projects, such as those that are expected in the fight against climate change. For example, the TPP would prevent a government from requiring local sourcing in order to foster green industry.

With ISDS, corporations will also be able to challenge the regulations required to fight climate change if they deem them to be unreasonable or unfair obstacles to carry on their business activities. As a result, the TPP will put a chill on governments taking the steps necessary to fight climate change. Without governments taking a strong role, we will not be able to transition to a low-carbon economy in time to avert climate catastrophe.

When the Harper government began negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership, they did not take the time to perform any kind of economic or environmental analysis. While major concerns like the above have been raised, no convincing case has been made for why Canadians would benefit from the TPP.

To read the full text of the letter to Trade Minister Freeland, click here.

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“We are very encouraged that the ministers have reached out to us to start what we know will be an ongoing discussion about whether this deal benefits Canadian workers and industries,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Labour leaders raised a number of concerns with the ministers, including how to ensure the deal actually helps to raise labour standards instead of lowering them, how violations would be penalized, the very dire impact it would have on Canada’s auto sector, how it could impact drug costs, why it should not include reference to temporary foreign workers, and how it could impede Canada’s commitments on climate change.

“We made it very clear to the ministers that we aren’t against trade, but it must be fair trade,” said Yussuff.

Labour leaders also encouraged the ministers to consider conducting a very robust consultation that extends beyond Parliamentary Committee hearings.

Minister Freeland told labour leaders today that the TPP would not take effect in Canada until it is ratified by a vote in Parliament.

Labour leaders at the meeting included Hassan Yussuff, President, CLC; James Clancy, President, National Union of Public and General Employees; Jerry Dias, National President, Unifor; François Laporte, President, Teamsters Canada; Dave Ritchie, General Vice President, Canada, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers – Canada; and Linda Silas, President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

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On October 5th, the governments of twelve countries of the Pacific region announced that they had reached a historic trade agreement.

Unfortunately for Canadians, there was little to cheer about.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement was negotiated behind closed doors, with no input from civil society in Canada, and was concluded under a caretaker government.

We know that the proposed Agreement will have definite impacts on jobs in Canada, notably through lower content requirements for automotive imports, and the TPP’s concessions allowing for greater imports in the supply-managed agricultural sectors.

It is apprehended that this agreement will also have a serious impact on the capacity of all levels of government to regulate and provide services in the public interest. There are notably concerns over the investor-state provisions, the extension of pharmaceutical patent protection and other monopoly intellectual property rights, as well as whether the agreement contains meaningful provisions to protect workers’ rights.

In view of these likely impacts and the fact that Canadians are only discovering now the actual language of this agreement, the CLC calls on the Canadian government:

1. To provide a serious economic assessment of the impact on jobs, particularly but not exclusively in the automobile industry and in the supply-managed agricultural sectors;
2. To examine the likely effects of the TPP on the regulatory capacity of government, notably with respect to the provision of public services; and
3. To create the conditions for an open and inclusive public debate, notably through public consultation and a parliamentary commission.

The CLC will work with affiliates, federations of labour, labour councils and other allies to better educate the public about the TPP and other proposed trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), as well as engage in a targeted lobbying campaign with the members of new Parliament.

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The TPP locks in high drug prices by increasing copyright protection and allowing corporations to sue governments for lost profits. Worse, the deal prevents governments from being able to store citizens’ health information in their own country.

Patent protection: The agreement extends the patent protection for a class of drugs called “biologics”. Biologics can be composed of sugars, proteins, or nucleic acids or complex combinations of these, or may be living cells or tissues taken from natural sources such as human, animal, or microorganism. These kinds of drugs are often the only treatment to some diseases. Longer copyright stops a drug from being produced by the generic drug industry, which provides the same product for less money.

Corporations can sue: The TPP’s investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process allows drug manufacturers and other multinational corporations to take governments to court for any measure that negatively impacts their profits. This TPP mechanism would deter a government from taking actions such as creating a national drug program for fear that it might trigger lawsuits from drug manufacturers and other multinational corporations.

•    In fact, it’s already happening. Right now, the Government of Canada is being sued by a United States pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly for $500 million under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)’s ISDS provisions.

Health privacy: The TPP may also pose risks to Canadian health records and patient privacy under the intellectual property (IP) provisions by preventing governments from storing confidential health information only on local servers.

This means Canadian health records will be available to authorities in other TPP countries. But other governments might have varying and lower privacy protections and restrictions on use. Under the TPP, limitations are placed on government powers to restrict the flow of internet data such as personal information across borders to other countries.

Bad medicine

The TPP’s high prescription drug prices and its low level of protection for Canadians’ health information will have a drastic impact on health care. Every developed country in the world with a universal health care system provides a universal coverage for prescription drugs to its citizens—except for Canada. A universal program would cover all Canadians and will cost less. The TPP makes this almost impossible.

Big Pharma corporations pushed hard for the TPP. Just follow the money: In 2013, Canadians filled 500 million prescriptions for pharmaceuticals drugs at a cost of $30 billion. Spending on prescriptions drugs is the fastest growing health care cost in the last 20 years.

Already one in ten Canadians do not take their prescription drugs because they cannot afford to. To take one example: A year’s supply of the brand name drug Lipitor in Canada costs around $811. The generic version costs around $140.  In New Zealand, where there is a national public agency that negotiates prescription drug prices, a year’s supply of the brand name Lipitor drug for the year is $15.

We can’t afford the TPP

The TPP is bad medicine. It’s a major hurdle that will make it much more difficult for the federal government to bring down drug prices and establish a national drug program for all Canadians.

See what others are saying about the TPP

•    Doctors without Borders (MSF): “The negative impact on public health will be enormous.”
•    Health advocates & academics: “TPP deal could drive up the cost of medicine worldwide.”
•    Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: “A minefield for efforts to control drug costs.”

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“Trade deals are supposed to benefit ordinary working families, but this deal has nothing to do with balanced trade and developing Canada’s exports,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

“Instead, it will benefit a select few by extending investors’ power to protect profits, opening up our auto industry to low-wage competition and expanding monopolies for powerful multinationals, like pharmaceutical companies,” he added.

Yussuff says the auto-manufacturing sector will be especially hard hit by the deal, which includes significant reductions in local content requirements for vehicles and automotive parts.

“This government has overseen enormous damage to Canadian manufacturing capacity and employment, and our auto industry is already reeling,” he said. “Now it will now be forced to compete with low-wage parts sourced from other countries, and that’s bad news for thousands of good manufacturing jobs.”

Yussuff is also concerned about the deal’s impact on Canadian dairy and poultry farms, saying it threatens farmers’ ability to continue to make a decent living wage, while providing good, safe food for Canadians.

A technical summary released by the government contains only vague information, leaving many questioning Trade Minister Ed Fast’s assertion that he doesn’t anticipate job losses. It does reveal that the deal maintains monopoly powers for pharmaceutical multinationals over generic producers. And more questions are raised than answered about how opening up procurement rules will impact local government autonomy and the ability to generate local jobs and community economic benefits.

Yussuff says the Conservatives appear to be using the deal as an electoral prop, while keeping Canadians in the dark about the long-term implications.

“Canadians need to know now, not after the election, what this deal will mean for jobs in the auto industry, or for pharmacare and the cost of medication, or for the ability of municipalities to promote local economic development and job creation, without fear of being sued by corporations,” said Yussuff.

“Voters wouldn’t accept a vague ‘technical summary’ of the parties’ commitments, and they shouldn’t be kept in the dark about the implications of this deal,” he concluded.

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The TPP is worrying labour leaders and environmentalists in Canada and around the world because of its blatant disregard for worker protection, environmental safeguards, and the harm it could do to vital, but vulnerable economic sectors like auto manufacturing.

Can Canada sign-on during an election campaign?

During an election campaign, the governing party is traditionally considered to be a “caretaker government” without the mandate to undertake major initiatives, such as signing on to a major multilateral trade and investment deal with lasting and far-reaching consequences.

Opposition is widespread

Fears over the deal prompted national labour movement leaders from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada to issue a joint statement calling on trade negotiators to slow down, stop, and revise the guiding principles of the TPP.

“We’ve seen no evidence that our current government is working to ensure that the TPP will benefit Canadian workers,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

While corporations have full access to negotiations and the proposed texts, opposition legislators and civil society actors have been shut out of the process in all TPP countries.

“We’ll continue to work with our allies to try and cut through the secrecy surrounding this deal,” said Yussuff.

The proposed deal, as it currently designed, would:

• Extend the NAFTA-style investment provisions that give corporations the “right” to sue governments for policies or regulations that might reduce profits. The proceedings of this corporate “private justice system” take place in the back rooms of trade offices, not in public courts.
• Undermine vital domestic industries like the automotive sector. The TPP threatens to erode NAFTA’s regional automotive content rules, risking the loss of auto assembly and parts manufacturing investments and jobs.

“The CLC, along with its American and Mexican partners, calls for good jobs and decent work in a sustainable economy that is balanced and equitable – within and among our countries,” said Yussuff. “The TPP – or any other trade deal – should put these priorities above corporate profits, every time,” he added.

The twelve nations currently negotiating the TPP are the U.S., Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, and Brunei Darussalam.

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With this amount of power and capacity internationally, it’s important that policies and standards are in place to ensure these companies engage in responsible business practices.  This includes worker safety and security, environmental responsibility, accountability for revenues generated from activities, and ensuring positive outcomes for the local communities in which they operate.

Far too often this is not the case. These Canadian owned companies operating overseas have been accused of and associated with human rights abuses, injured or killed workers, environmental destruction, and corruption that prevents tax revenues from being invested back into communities and public services.

The Canadian Labour Congress, in collaboration with the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, is part of an initiative called Open for Justice.  We are calling on the government of Canada for:

• An extractive-sector Ombudsman with the power to independently investigate complaints and make recommendations to corporations and the Government of Canada.
• Legislated access to Canadian courts for people who have been seriously harmed by the international operations of Canadian companies.

Individuals and communities who have suffered harm at the hands of these companies and their practices have nowhere to seek justice: not in one’s own country, not in international arenas, and not in Canada. This is why we must make Canada Open For Justice.

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Read more about the Open for Justice Campaign
• Read more about Establishing a Human Rights Ombudsman for Canada’s International Extractive Sector
• Visit the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability’s website.

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The CLC is against investor-state arbitration that drains countries of their natural resources and gives power to corporations. We call on the Canadian government to reject the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process, and the trade and investment model on which it is based.

Canadian unions support Salvaide’s Stop the Suits Tour, a campaign to raise awareness of the ISDS currently affecting the people of El Salvador.

OceanaGold, a Canadian-Australia mining company operating in El Salvador is suing the El Salvadoran government for US$301 million because they were denied a permit to operate a gold mine, despite not having met regulatory requirements. A ruling is expected any day now.

This permit was denied because El Salvador is suffering from a severe water crisis, and mining directly contributes to the destruction of their eco-system.

El Salvador is one of the most deforested countries in Latin America and are experiencing the harshest effects of climate change.

Why we oppose this:

1. This case undermines national sovereignty and directly contradicts El Salvador’s ban on mining in their country.
2. ISDS’s are undemocratic; proceedings take place behind closed doors and out of reach of concerned citizens.
3. Foreign investor protections in multilateral and bilateral treaties have allowed corporations to challenge environmental regulation, public health measures, labour protections, and even decisions of national courts.
4. Investor-state arbitration means that corporations can sue countries for heinous amounts of money, which in El Salvador’s case amounts to about 5% their GDP.
5. Cases such as these set a precedent and normalize the perception that corporate interests come before the public good.

El Salvador is not the only country battling ISDS. Calgary-based Lone Pine Resources is suing Canada for $250 million in response to Quebec’s decision to put a ban on shale gas mining, known as fracking. This measure, broadly supported in Quebec, is based on concern for people’s health and the environment.

ISDS’s have increased dramatically. Canada is the target country for over 70% of these suits and has already paid tens of millions to foreign corporations. Canada may have to pay up to $2 billion more in settlements brought under NAFTA.

The post 5 reasons to oppose OceanaGold’s lawsuit against El Salvador appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

We believe that all citizens of the 12 countries in negotiations should be able to review and contribute to the deal before it is finalized. So far, the negotiations have ignored input from parliaments, civil society, and the trade union movement.

To benefit workers and create shared prosperity, we need an open, democratic process, not secretive negotiations and extraordinary approval procedures.

A good agreement should put people first by:

• Enforcing International Labour Organisation core labour rights;
• Protecting the environment and public services;
• Not allowing special rights to foreign investors to sue governments, thereby undermining local, state and national decisions and laws; and
• Having affordable access to vital medicines with fair patent rules.

Learn more about the TPP:

It’s a secret! The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Take action now:

Ask Canadian trade minister Ed Fast to stop these secretive negotiations and share the details of the TPP

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“It’s very disappointing to see MPs voting to strip Canadians of their most fundamental rights as citizens for reasons that go beyond the security concerns posed by ISIS and its supporters. They have not stood up to defend our rights and freedoms, they have instead voted to put the Charter in a shredder,” said Hassan Yussuff.

According to Yussuff, the new laws, now before the Senate, give CSIS and the RCMP far-reaching new powers to intervene and interfere with people’s lives. The irresponsibly broad definition of what constitutes a threat exposes peaceful work stoppages, wildcat strikes and other forms of nonviolent civil disobedience to a very real risk of being wrongfully targeted for police action, including arrests and detentions. At the same time, new definitions of criminal activity for “advocating” or “promoting” the commission of anything deemed a threat could impact freedom of speech and freedom of opinion, including freedom of the press and academic freedom.

“We will keep up our work to prevent this terribly flawed legislation from becoming terribly flawed laws that work against the very democratic rights and freedoms it claims to protect,” said Yussuff.

“The strong opposition to this legislation that we’ve seen in Parliament is encouraging as are the promises that a change of government later this year will reverse the mistakes that are being allowed to happen today,” he added.

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“Canadians agree that terrorism is a threat and the government has a responsibility to safeguard public safety, but it has not justified why it cannot do that using the existing criminal code,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

“This bill appears to be more about political posturing ahead of a political election than it is about better protecting public safety and our democracy,” he added.

What’s worse, he says, is it is being rushed through without adequate debate and consultation.

“We are alarmed that the government has blocked Canada’s Privacy Commissioner and former Prime Ministers from testifying before the parliamentary committee hearing evidence on the bill,” said Yussuff.

The CLC represents 3.3 million workers and an increasingly diverse membership that includes workers from Muslim and other communities who are being targeted by this bill and the rhetoric being used to promote it.

“We remember too well how after the attacks of 9/11, CSIS and the RCMP harassed many Muslims and workers from other racialized communities in their workplaces, resulting in job losses and harassment by employers and co-workers,” said Yussuff.

“We are opposing this bill on behalf of those communities and because if passed into law it will compromise the rights of all our members and all Canadians,” he added.

What’s wrong with Bill C-51

• It goes well beyond working to stop genuine security threats, giving CSIS and the RCMP far-reaching new powers, lowering the threshold for preventative arrest and expanding the notion of what constitutes a threat to national security.
• It leaves peaceful work stoppages, wildcat strikes, and other forms of nonviolent civil disobedience that may be deemed unlawful, susceptible to far-reaching interference and disruption by the RCMP and CSIS. Think of the peaceful yet “unlawful” activism that won women the right to vote in Canada, ended racial segregation in the US and defeated Apartheid in South Africa.
• It exacerbates an already serious lack of oversight and review of CSIS, the RCMP and other agencies tasked with national security work.
• This bill introduces a new criminal offense for ‘advocating’ or ‘promoting’ the commission of a terrorism act – terms that could be interpreted very subjectively. This could impact freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of the press and academic freedom.
• It allows CSIS to contravene the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other Canadian laws.

What our allies are saying

The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group lists links to submissions and presentations made in opposition to the bill by many of our allies, including the Assembly of First Nations, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the Canadian Council for Refugees.

CLC president Hassan Yussuff is scheduled to appear before the House of Commons Public Safety Committee on March 25.

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Ten years ago, in the wake of 9/11, our government was forced to call a Commission of Inquiry into the role played by Canadian officials in the overseas detention and torture of Canadian citizen, Maher Arar. Through that process, led by Justice Dennis O’Connor, we learned that Canadian security and law enforcement agencies had mislabeled him a terrorist, and that their actions contributed to his overseas detention and torture. It soon became apparent that his was not an isolated case — and a second Commission of Inquiry was established, this time led by retired Supreme Court Justice, Frank Iacobucci. Once again, it was determined that Canadian agencies had made unsubstantiated allegations of terrorist links against three other Canadian men — Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin. And once again, it was determined that Canadian officials had played a role in their overseas detention and torture. This year, we are marking the United Nations Human Rights Day on December 10, by remembering these cases, and all the other serious miscarriages of justice that have been the consequence of this misinterpretation of “security” in the post 9/11 world.

We want to highlight, once again, the very important work done by Justice O’Connor and Justice Iacobucci at both inquiries, and the very crucial recommendations made by the Arar Inquiry. Most importantly, we recall Justice O’Connor’s comprehensive recommendations around the need for integrated civilian oversight of all the agencies that lead and participate in national security work. Those recommendations have not been implemented. Instead, we see more and more powers being given to national security agencies, and less and less oversight of their activities. This must not continue.

We also highlight the need for redress for all victims of post 9/11 abuses of power by Canadian security and law enforcement agencies. Just as Maher Arar received an apology and compensation, so too should Almalki, El Maati, and Nureddin. Benamar Benatta is another example of someone whose life has been destroyed by overreaching security agencies, and he and all others who have experienced this kind of injustice must be given redress.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed December 10 as Human Rights Day in 1950. The goal was to raise awareness about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. It is an assertion of collective and individual rights, recognizing everyone’s right to be treated fairly, equally, and with dignity. It symbolizes hope, freedom from oppression, persecution, and domination, and the promise of security for all. And it serves as the inspiration of our work every day.

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The security certificate system is inherently unfair in allowing non-citizens to be detained without charges, based on evidence which they are not allowed to see, and which would otherwise be inadmissible in a court of law. A person, such as Mr. Harkat, who is subject to a security certificate may also face deportation to a country where he or she could be at risk of torture or death.

In 2007, the Supreme Court found a previous security certificate program to be unconstitutional. Parliament later amended the system, primarily by providing for adding special advocates – that is, lawyers who participate in all the proceedings but whose powers and communications with accused individuals are severely restricted.

The court’s new judgment released on May 14 acknowledged that the amended security certificate program is not perfect and has limitations, but concluded that the special advocates and judges involved can reduce the essential unfairness of the process.

The CLC believes that, despite the best efforts of special advocates and judges involved in these cases, the security certificate program will continue to deprive individuals of their human rights.

The CLC also believes that the court’s ruling leaves Canada in contravention of its international obligations. Various United Nations human rights bodies have urged Canada to change the system and other groups, including Amnesty International, continue to call for the elimination of the security certificate regime.

The Canadian government insists that these special powers, and the disregard for fundamental human rights, are justified in order to protect against international terrorism. History, however, holds many examples of governments encroaching unduly upon the rights of individuals in the name of enhanced national security. The security certificate program is one of those examples. The government has adequate policing and legal tools at its disposal and the flawed security program should be disbanded.

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“This agreement, like the one with Europe, was negotiated largely behind closed doors,” says CLC president Ken Georgetti, “but as the details emerge, it appears that the government has failed to properly balance the interests of sectors of the Canadian economy and needs of the country as a whole.” Research conducted by Unifor, which represents workers in the Canadian auto manufacturing sector, estimates that 33,000 manufacturing jobs could be at risk if the deal is ratified.

Georgetti says, “In 2012, we sold $3.7 billion worth of goods to Korea but imported $6.4 billion worth in return. While some industries might benefit, overall we believe that this deal, which was poorly negotiated by our government, could actually increase our trade deficit with Korea.” The CLC has long called for a strategy that aims for balanced trade flows between countries, and agreements that promote human rights, labour rights, and environmental protection.

Georgetti adds that the agreement with Korea, if ratified, may interfere with the right of governments to regulate in the public interest, to protect public services. He also criticized the likely inclusion of an investor-state dispute settlement process. “We have seen this in previous trade deals and we fear that it will give Korean companies special privileges to directly challenge Canadian laws and regulations before secret tribunals. Canadians have a right to transparency.”

“We just don’t know if Canada’s trade negotiators adequately addressed South Korea’s subsidization of its industries, and that’s because this agreement was largely negotiated in secret.” Georgetti is calling full transparency with opportunity for input from the public on the agreement before it becomes law. “We want to see a full evaluation of the health, social, environmental, and labour aspects of this proposed agreement. Canadians should not be stampeded into agreeing to a deal that might do us more harm than good.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils.

Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca
Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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Canada and the European Union (EU) are close to concluding a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Recently, Canada’s first offers to the European Union on Services and Investment were leaked to the public by the Quebec Network on Continental Integration (RQIC).1 Canada’s financial services offers were released on February 9, 2012. That same day, la Fédération Interprofessionelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) released their analysis of Canada’s offers and raised worrisome implications for health and social services.

When the government was pressed in Question Period the next day by NDP Members of Parliament Libby Davis and Anne Minh-Thu Quach, Conservative MP Gerard Keddy replied that:
… a free trade agreement with the European Union would exclude public services such as public health, public education and social services. Canada’s trade obligations do not require us to privatize any part of our health care system. End of story.

The government argues that health care services are protected in Canada’s trade agreements primarily because of its Annex II Social Services Reservation. When the federal government says that Canada’s public health care system is not on the table, this is what it is referring to. This Annex II Social Services Reservation appears in Canada’s CETA initial offer, and it states the following:

Canada reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to the provision of public law enforcement and correctional services, and the following services to the extent that they are social services established or maintained for a public purpose: income security or insurance, social security or insurance, social welfare, public education, public training, health, and child care.

This reservation allows governments to adopt future measures that would otherwise contravene Canada’s trade and investment agreements.

Download the entire report

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