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ACTION ALERT: Liberals must say NO to the Canada—Colombia FTA this Monday, May 25 in the House of CommonsThe Canada—Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) hits the House of Commons this Monday, May 25 for second reading and debate followed by a vote that if passed would send it to committee for further study. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff along with some Liberals on the Commons Standing Committee on International Trade have been sending around a form letter indicating that human rights and labour conditions are improving in Colombia, and that free trade is the only way to create a legitimate economy in that country. Both of these statements are demonstrably false. Extra-judicial killing and paramilitary violence continue unabated and unchallenged in any serious way by the Uribe administration, which has been implicated in both. And the only thing a free trade agreement with Canada would do is justify a brutal regime that even Canada’s closest allies are having a hard time accommodating:
We need to write to every one of our MPs, but particularly Liberal MPs, this weekend to say we don’t want blood on Canada’s hands. Colombia needs peace, and an end to extra-judicial and paramilitary violence, not a free trade and investment pact that hands new concessions to Canadian companies in return for Canada’s seal of approval for a brutal and corrupt regime. TAKE ACTION! Write to your MP at their constituency office or in Ottawa between now and Monday morning urging them to vote no in second reading to Bill C-23 (the Canada—Colombia Free Trade Agreement). To find your MP using your postal code: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC. Special emphasis needs to be put on Liberal MPs, many of whom do not share the views expressed in the form letter on the CCFTA coming from the offices of Ignatieff, Scott Brison, John Cannis and others. For a list of all MPs and their party affiliation: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Lists/Members.aspx?Parliament=8714654b-cdbf-48a2-b1ad-57a3c8ece839&Current=True. Sample letter: Dear [MP’s name here], I understand that the Canada—Colombia Free Trade Agreement will come back to the House of Commons for a second reading, debate and vote this week. It shouldn’t go any further, for many reasons, which is why I am urging you to vote no when it finally does come up for a vote. In response to widespread opposition to this FTA, the Conservative and Liberal parties have repeated Colombian government propaganda that according to groups like Human Rights Watch, human rights and labour conditions are improving in Colombia. Nothing could be further from the truth, as evidence proves extra-judicial killings and paramilitary violence increased between 2007 and 2008, and that the Uribe administration has done very little to bring perpetrators to justice. In fact, hardly a week goes by when new stories implicating the government directly in the violence and corruption don’t appear in local and international news. Canada’s allies understand this. On April 29, 2009 the Guardian UK reported that “Britain has quietly ended nearly a decade of military aid to Colombia's armed forces after accusations of gross violations of human rights, including the murder of civilians who were shot and reported as guerrillas killed in combat.” The Government of Norway has suspended free trade talks with Colombia while a delegation explores the human rights situation on the ground. "We are not satisfied with the way human rights and fundamental labour rights are dealt with in this agreement," said Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen of the draft agreement between Colombia and the European Free Trade Association. And the United States government is also delaying ratification of its free trade agreement with Colombia while it explores “benchmarks for progress” on things like human rights and labour conditions, which could become enforceable under any eventual agreement. The Canada—Colombia FTA pays only lip service to environmental protection and labour standard while focusing most attention on making investors rights the ultimate economic prerogative. If the situation has improved in Colombia, then clearly an independent human rights impact assessment would prove it and you would be able to make a better decision on whether or not engaging with the current Uribe regime was wise. I urge you to stand by the Standing Committee on International Trade’s recommendation last summer that such an assessment happen before ratifying any deal with Colombia. I would also add that there is scant if any evidence that free trade and investment agreements would or could ever: 1) curb drug and paramilitary violence; 2) improve labour conditions in Colombia, or; 3) safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians to their land. If producing a legitimate economy in Colombia is your goal, it makes no sense to empower a vicious and corrupt regime. It makes more sense to engage the Colombian government on human rights and democratic reform, with the aim of producing a stable, more equitable society. Never has free trade produced democracy, but democratic societies frequently have a better chance of redistributing wealth from increased trade in a way that benefits a majority of people, and not just a wealthy corporate and government elite. With the Bloc and NDP opposed to the CCFTA, the Liberals hold the balance of power on this issue: Either you vote with your conscience and good sense, against the Colombia FTA in second reading. Or you vote with the Harper government, in which case you will be making Canada complicit in the Uribe regime’s campaign of terror against its opponents in civil society and the labour movement. I urge you to do the right thing. Sincerely, [Your name] |
