Today, April 24, marks the beginning of a week of action against the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement, with special focus on convincing Liberal MPs that whether or not they support free trade, this is a bad agreement that can only worsen human rights violations, increase violence against labour and civil society actors, and weaken environmental protections in Colombia for the sake of boosting the profits of large Canadian mining and resource companies.

International Trade Minister Stockwell Day introduced Bill C-23, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, as well as two other side agreements on the environment and labour, on March 26, 2009 for first reading. It will come back to the House of Commons in early to mid-May.

So far the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have said they do not support the deal, while several Liberals have publicly endorsed it as a way to improve the human rights situation in Colombia. This is an untenable position for the Liberals to take, especially when their party has already demanded at the Commons Committee on International Trade that a full human rights assessment be carried out before any deal with Colombia is finalized.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Write, email or phone Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and other key Liberals (See the contact information below) to insist they demand a full human rights impact assessment be carried out before the government ratifies any free trade agreement with Colombia.
2. Organize a phone booth in your community where people can phone their MP right then and there to urge them to vote against the agreement. You’ll need a cell phone or two and a script that they can read out to the MP’s assistant in Ottawa or their voice mail. See below for a draft script prepared by the Canadian Labour Congress.
3. Print off (on card stock) the attached postcards, also directed at key Liberal MPs. These can be handed out at farmer’s markets, left in strategic places around town, put into mailboxes and otherwise distributed at events you will be attending in the next week. You can find the postcards, which were shared with the Council of Canadians, by clicking here.
4. Send a letter to the editor using the text below and in our last action alert as a template. The news media has been silent on the resistance to the Canada-Colombia FTA. Letters help put important issues on the news agenda.

Thanks to all who have already contacted their MPs on this urgent matter. And good luck during this next week of action against the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement.

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KEY MPs

Name	Constituency	Constituency Address	Ottawa Contact Information
Michael Ignatieff	Etobicoke—Lakeshore	656 The Queensway	House of Commons
		Etobicoke, Ontario	Ottawa, Ontario
		M8Y 1K7	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (416) 251-5510	Telephone: (613) 995-9364
		Fax: (416) 251-2845	Fax: (613) 992-5880
			EMail: IgnatM@parl.gc.ca
			Web Site:* www.michaelignatieff.ca
John Cannis	Scarborough Centre	1450 Midland Ave, Suite 211	House of Commons
		Scarborough, Ontario	Ottawa, Ontario
		M1P 4Z8	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (416) 752-2358	Telephone: (613) 992-6823
		Fax: (416) 752-4624	Fax: (613) 943-1045
			EMail: CanniJ@parl.gc.ca
			Web Site:* www.johncannis.parl.gc.ca
Mario Silva	Davenport	1674 St Clair Ave West	House of Commons
		Toronto, Ontario	Ottawa, Ontario
		M6N 1H8	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (416) 654-8048	Telephone: (613) 992-2576
		Fax: (416) 654-5083	Fax: (613) 995-8202
			EMail: SilvaM@parl.gc.ca
			Web Site:* www.mariosilva.ca/
Hon. Maria Minna	Beaches—East York	1912 Danforth Ave,	House of Commons
		Toronto, Ontario	Ottawa, Ontario
		M4C 1J4	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (416) 467-0860	Telephone: (613) 992-2115
		Fax: (416) 467-0905	Fax: (613) 996-7942
			EMail: MinnaM@parl.gc.ca
			Web Site:* www.mariaminna.com/
Hon. Bob Rae	Toronto Centre	514 Parliament Street (Main Office)	House of Commons
		Toronto, Ontario	Ottawa, Ontario
		M4X 1P4	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (416) 954-2222	Telephone: (613) 992-5234
		Fax: (416) 954-9649	Fax: (613) 996-9607
			EMail: RaeB@parl.gc.ca
			Web Site:* www.bobrae.ca/
Pablo Rodriguez	Honoré-Mercier	7450 Les Galeries d'Anjou Blvd, Ste 530	House of Commons
		Anjou, Québec	Ottawa, Ontario
		H1M 3M3	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (514)353-5044
		Fax: (514)353-3050	Telephone: (613) 995-0580
			Fax: (613) 992-1710
		11965 Alexis Carrel Suite 103	EMail: RodriPa@parl.gc.ca
		Montréal, Québec	Web Site:* www.pablorodriguez.ca
		H1E 5K7	(in French only)
		Telephone: (514) 648-1955
Hon. Scott Brison	Kings—Hants	360 Main St, Suite 12	House of Commons
		Wolfville, Nova Scotia	Ottawa, Ontario
		B4P 1C4	K1A 0A6
		Telephone: (902) 542-4010	Telephone: (613) 995-8231
		Fax: (902) 542-4184	Fax: (613) 996-9349
			EMail: BrisoS@parl.gc.ca
			Web Site:* www.votebrison.ca/

 

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DRAFT LETTER TO IGNATIEFF (OR OTHER LIBERAL MPS)

Dear Mr. Ignatieff (OR OTHER LIBERAL MP),

I am deeply concerned that the Liberal Party would abandon its values and its support of internationally recognized human rights by putting trade considerations above the lives of millions of displaced, impoverished Colombians.

According to the United Nations, the humanitarian crisis in Colombia is the second worst in the world after Sudan. Under President Alvaro Uribe’s watch, more than two million people have been displaced from their homes, while thousands of trade unionists, peasants, indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and activists have been killed by the state and affiliated paramilitary organizations.

In spite of Prime Minister Harper’s assurances that security has improved in Colombia, the murder count for unionized workers increased 25 percent between 2007 and 2008, while the conviction rate for these crimes remains at only three percent. With this level of impunity, there is very little incentive for the perpetrators to stop.

The Uribe government continues to denounce union members as guerrillas, false statements that only encourage paramilitary groups to continue putting workers in extreme jeopardy. At the same time, high ranking government members have been linked in court to corruption, electoral fraud and complicity with drug lords and death squad leaders.

Norway has put its own FTA with Colombia on hold for these reasons. What is our government’s rush? And how could the Liberal Party possibly support the Prime Minister’s free trade agreement with so many human rights issues left unsolved and in all cases worsening?

Let us be clear about one thing – a vote against this deal is not a vote against trade.

Experts have concluded that given the context of violence and displacement the trade measures in the Colombia FTA will exacerbate the human rights crisis, while the labour rights and environmental provisions in the deal are ineffectual. The environmental side agreement of the Canada-Colombia FTA does not even meet NAFTA standards, which are obviously weak considering the number of Chapter 11 lawsuits that have been filed against legitimate environmental protection rules in Canada.

Last June, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade recommended that an “impartial human rights impact assessment be carried out by a competent body, which is subject to independent levels of scrutiny and validation… before Canada considers ratifying and implementing an agreement with Colombia.”

Not only would it be undemocratic to ignore this reasonable recommendation from a parliamentary committee, as your party has already pointed out, but it would be irresponsible considering the ongoing controversy in Colombia. 

We strongly urge you to postpone the ratification of the Canada-Colombia FTA until such an assessment can be carried out.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME

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DRAFT SCRIPT FOR PHONE CALLS TO MPS

Hello, my name is __________________. I am your constituent calling from _________. I am calling to urge you, and the Liberal Party you represent, to stop the implementation of the Canada Colombia free trade agreement. I am hoping you will support efforts to halt its ratification.

By voting against this legislation, you would be demonstrating a commitment to human rights and against President Alvaro Uribe's government, which has one of the worst human rights records in the world.  

Harper’s introduction of Bill C23 constitutes a repudiation of Canadian values. It also rewards Uribe for the displacement of more than 2 million people and the killing of tens of thousands of trade unionists, women, peasants, Indigenous peoples, and Afro Colombians by the state and its paramilitaries in Colombia.

Our nation needs a leader strong enough to make trade fairer, not just freer.

My hope is that the Liberal Party will decide to do the right thing and oppose any deals with this regime. I urge you to oppose Bill C23.

Thank you for taking my call.