MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2008

Canada Needs to Abandon Failed Model of World Trade Talks, says Maude Barlow

Ottawa – The collapse of the Doha Round of WTO (World Trade Organization) talks in Geneva yesterday is being celebrated as a victory for democracy around the world, says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. Barlow says the collapse of the Doha Round should be a wake up call for the federal and provincial governments to reverse course on undemocratic bilateral and inter-provincial deals such as TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreements) and the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Instead the Harper government plans to aggressively pursue bilateral trade deals, including between Canadian provinces and other countries, which could lead to the economic balkanization of Canada, cautions Barlow. “Stephen Harper has no mandate to run roughshod over democracy by aggressively pushing for bilateral trade deals that only benefit big business because he didn’t get his way at the WTO,” she says.

“The WTO talks failed for the same reason they have failed for seven years,” adds Barlow. “Economic globalization, led by the rich countries and their corporations, and the notion of unlimited growth behind the WTO is killing the world. Too many people and their governments are refusing to have these so-called ‘trade’ deals force-fed to them by the world's elite.”

“The world is running out of cheap energy and water. Policies and institutions that promote endless growth and trade must go the way of the dinosaurs,” continues Barlow. “The world also has a food crisis that has caused many poorer countries to turn to national food security policies while consumers around the world now want to buy and shop locally and sustainably. The only way out of the ecological crisis the world faces is a different way of living, where trade and the economy serve communities, not the other way around, and sustainable trade and economic policies must prevail.”

“The attempt by some to put a positive spin on the outcome of the Doha talks in Geneva by saying there were only some minor obstacles is patently absurd,” adds Barlow. “The global trade agenda has been on the brink since day one. This is precisely because it has never been a balanced negotiation. It’s been a series of bullying sessions, to force the Global South to concede to something that has never been in the interest of the majority of the people on the planet.”

“Corporate globalization is a spent agenda. Multilateral trade deals have been resoundingly rejected by the majority of the world over the past ten years,” concludes Barlow. “Changing strategy from multilateral bullying to bilateral bullying is not the solution to the failed model embodied by the Doha Round. It’s not in the interest of the Global South and it’s not in the interest of Canadians.”

 

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For more information or to arrange an interview with Maude Barlow, contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians
Office: 613-233-4487 ext. 249, Cell: 613-795-8685, Email: