MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
January 14, 2011

Council of Canadians to warn EU parliament of trade threats to public water, tar sands, democracy

The Council of Canadians, Canada's largest advocacy organization, will be in Brussels next week (January 17 to 21) for the sixth round of Canada-EU free trade negotiations. The organization will be part of a Trade Justice Network delegation to Brussels and also to Strasbourg, where the groups will encourage Members of the European Parliament to put the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations on ice while the negotiating mandate is debated publicly in Canada and the EU.

WHAT: The Council of Canadians will meet with European civil society groups and parliamentarians to share a new legal opinion on the impact CETA will have on tar sands development, as well as environmental policy more generally, and a new report on how the agreement could lead to more privatization of Canadian and EU public water systems. On Monday, the Council will take part in a protest outside the European Commission, which is organized by the UK Tar Sands Network with participation from The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Friends of the Earth Europe. The Council will be joined next week by IEN, Canadian Union of Public Employees, National Farmers Union and ATTAC-Quebec -- all members of the Trade Justice Network (tradejustice.ca).

WHO: Brent Patterson, director of campaigns and communications, and Stuart Trew, trade campaigner

"The Harper government has been openly dismissive of Canadian concerns about his European trade deal but it hasn't stopped the number of groups opposed to CETA growing with each negotiating round. In the EU, like in Canada, politicians and the public are being locked out of the CETA talks. We're going to Brussels to talk to European decision-makers about why we think this deal is bad for the environment, for public services like water, and for both our democracies," says Stuart Trew, trade campaigner with the Council of Canadians.

For more information:

Dylan Penner, media officer, Council of Canadians: +1.613.795.8685; dpenner@canadians.org
Stuart Trew (in Brussels): +1.647.222.9782; strew@canadians.org