MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2005

Canadian organizations issue statement critical of government’s GATS position at WTO Ministerial

In a joint statement released today, Canadian organizations called on the federal government to stop the anti-development services agenda at the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong.

The statement reads as follows:

“We, the undersigned civil society organizations demand that Canada stop participating in on-going attempts to include Annex C in the Ministerial text to be issued in Hong Kong.

While agriculture captures most of the attention, there have been intense negotiations on services going on behind close doors. The “Friends of Services Liberalization,” of which Canada is an active member, want to ensure that Annex C is endorsed in its present form as a key outcome of the Hong Kong Ministerial.

Annex C threatens to force developing countries into plurilateral negotiations, new disciplines on domestic regulation, and the possibility of an agreement on government procurement on services. These outcomes would have a devastating impact on the ability of countries, including Canada, to build their services sector, to regulate services in the interest of their own people and to ensure access to quality public services for all.

The fact that Annex C has been placed in square brackets in paragraph 21 of the draft Ministerial text clearly indicates the level of disagreement on the content of the Annex. Many developing countries have voiced their opposition to this fundamental change in the flexibility provided by the existing GATS infrastructure. However, in the midst of the “development” round, Canada disregards this opposition and presses on.

The Canadian government should seek to protect and improve on the quality of public services offered in Canada and around the world, not just promote the interest of its services multinationals.

We call on Canada to abandon Annex C as proposed.”

Signatories include:

The Council of Canadians
The Polaris Institute
KAIROS CANADA
National Farmers Union
Canadian Association of University Teachers
The Canadian Council for International Co-operation
OXFAM Canada

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For more information, contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians: (613) 233-4487, ext. 249; 1-800-387-7177, ext. 249; .