MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 27, 2010

Canada - Colombia free trade agreement hit with forgery scandal

Ottawa – As the Standing Committee on International Trade meets this afternoon to vote in camera on shutting down further debate on the Canada Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the Council of Canadians is surprised to learn of a forged email sent to Liberal MPs claiming to come from the organization’s chairperson Maude Barlow, supporting the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The email thanked the MPs for voting to support the Colombia FTA, praised the as yet unspecified amendment introduced by Liberal trade critic Scott Brison, and referred to opponents of the agreement as the “radical fringe”.

The Council of Canadians is investigating who might have sent the fraudulent email, dated May 13, 2010. In Europe, members of the European Parliament recently discovered they were being clandestinely spied on by Colombian security forces in relation to the EU’s trade negotiations with Colombia.

“This email forgery shows how desperate proponents of the Canada-Colombia FTA have become if they’re willing to lie and deceive to get the deal passed through the trade committee without a full assessment,” says Barlow.

The Council of Canadians first learned of the email yesterday and obtained a copy this morning. Maude Barlow sent a letter to Liberal MPs this morning to clear up any doubts that Liberal MPs might have about the position of the Council of Canadians on the FTA.

“I find it very unfortunate that not one of the Liberal MPs who received this email have raised a single question about it, given that by now they have received thousands of letters from Council of Canadians members and constituents in their ridings opposing this deal, and should know what our position is.”

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For more information:

Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org.