(Ottawa) – Today’s expected announcement on ‘split-run’ magazines, simply emphasizes Canada’s inability to protect national culture under various trade agreements, according to the Council of Canadians. The new policy is not expected to survive various challenges under trade agreements, and will probably meet the same fate as the MMT legislation, the organization says.

"The Canadian Government has woven an assortment of trade agreements which effectively place culture, citizens rights and the environment a distant second to the interests of big business" sad Peter Bleyer, Executive Director of the Council of Canadians. "Now Sheila Copps is tying herself in knots trying to find complicated ways to protect Canadian culture – and she seems to have failed. This policy will probably go down in smoke just like the MMT deal did last week. Free trade agreements just don’t allow for such things."

MMT is a gasoline additive believed by many to be harmful to human health and the environment. Last week the Federal government announced its retreat on an earlier MMT ban, in the face of a variety of free-trade challenges.

"Last week the government tacitly acknowledged that it couldn’t protect Canadians’ health and the environment" said Bleyer. "This week they are struggling - probably in vain - to protect Canadian culture."

Bleyer pointed out that under trade agreements such as NAFTA, the WTO and a prospective MAI, these efforts at protection are all in vain. "It’s like re-arranging the deck-chairs on the Titanic," said Bleyer. "The government is refusing to look up and see the iceberg of Free Trade. Wake up! It’s time to change course," Bleyer concluded. Bleyer called on the Government to move immediately to review Canada’s participation in NAFTA and the WTO and withdraw from the Multilateral Agreement on Investment currently under discussion.

The Council of Canadians, a national, non-profit, public interest group with 100,000 members across the country, is committed to promoting social and economic justice.

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