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Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)CETA is a comprehensive free trade agreement that would eliminate most tariffs between Canada and the EU while reaching “behind the border” to change non-trade related government policies that affect business profits. These can include differences in labour, health, intellectual property, cultural, farming, public safety or environmental rules and regulations. Negotiations began in May 2009. Read more in the resources below (see index in right-hand column). New report on leaked CETA documents explains threat to water services from Canada-EU trade dealThe Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Public Employees have released a briefing note on recently leaked documents related to ongoing Canada-European Union free trade negotiations. The documents show that Canada and the provinces have failed to protect drinking water and wastewater services from trade rules that would encourage and lock in privatization.
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Passed resolution in city/town |  |
Proposed resolution |
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Passed resolution by school board or association |  |
Seeking exemption |
View the larger MAP: Take Cities out of CETA and read resolution details.
Download a text/print version here.
Please help us keep the map up-to-date by sending us your local resolutions at inquiries@canadians.org.
A cross-Canada CETA tour organized by the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees
Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow and CUPE president Paul Moist will be speaking across the country highlighting the dangers of this proposed deal and to say that Canadian communities are not for sale.
See details and download posters at www.canadians.org/tradetour.
Action Alerts
- Show us the deal, give us a say! Demand transparency and public input before CETA is signed
- Support Toronto’s call for a greater say in CETA negotiations
- Municipal governments need a say on CETA: Pass a CETA resolution in your community today
- Tell Stephen Harper: Canada's communities are not for sale
- Take school boards and cities out of CETA!
- Sign the CETA petition - Stop the Canada-EU trade negotiations
- Don't let CETA privatize our water
Fact sheets
- Yes to Europe, No to CETA, October 2010
- CETA and Corporate Lobbying: Corporations hold the power over negotiations, October 2010
- Private water and CETA (bilingual), September 2010
A comic resource from the Trade Justice Network on why a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement would be a bad deal for Canada.
Handbills
- CETA and Democracy
- CETA and Health Care
- CETA and Investment
- CETA and Local Governments
- CETA and Water
Reports
Briefing paper: Tar Sands and the CETA, By Scott Sinclair, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, October 14, 2011
CETA’s High Toll on Health Care, Canadian Perspectives, Summer 2011
Council of Canadians challenges CETA in Brussels and Strasbourg
The Council of Canadians was in Brussels and Strasbourg from January 17 to 21, 2011 for the sixth round of Canada-European Union trade negotiations. We were part of a Trade Justice Network delegation that encouraged Members of the European Parliament to put the CETA negotiations on ice to allow for the negotiating mandate to be debated publicly in Canada and the EU. We met with European civil society groups and parliamentarians and shared 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.
BRIEFING: Keep Europe Out of the Tar Sands! Published by The Council of Canadians, Friends of the Earth Europe, Indigenous Environmental Network, UK Tar Sands Network, January 2011
CETA’s False Promises: Threats to food, water and jobs outweigh vain hope of increasing trade with Europe, Canadian Perspectives, Autumn 2010
Open letter: CETA - Transnational Corporations Must Not Write Our Laws! Attac-France, Attac-Québec, in collaboration with the Council of Canadians, October 20, 2010
REPORT: Public water for sale: How Canada will privatize our public water systems
Warns that public water in Canada will be lost unless the provinces and territories take immediate steps to remove water from the scope of the proposed Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). This report by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Council of Canadians exposes how CETA would open up public municipal water systems across Canada to privatization.
REPORT: Potential Impacts of the Proposed Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the Pace and Character of Oil Sands Development 
While the Canadian government and European Commission frequently tout the potential economic gains from a trans-Atlantic free trade pact, they do not discuss publicly the extent to which CETA would constrain the capacity of governments on both sides of the Atlantic to meet other social priorities. The Council of Canadians joined with The Indigenous Environmental Network and Friends of the Earth Europe commissioned the following legal opinion to examine those constraints as they would affect efforts to regulate the production of, or trade in the Alberta tar sands. But the findings also more broadly address how CETA would threaten a number of measures designed to lower the carbon and ecological footprint of economic activity. Download the legal opinion here.
BRIEFING: Keep Europe Out of the Tar Sands-Stop the Tar Sands Free Trade Talks:
Trading with a climate criminal - Canada’s tar sands are attracting global concern and criticism. The tar sands have become one of the last frontiers for “Big Oil,” including major European multinationals BP, Total and Shell. The unfolding social and environmental disaster in Alberta demands urgent action, including the respect of Indigenous rights, stronger regulations on carbon emissions, water use and contamination, and more. Yet the proposed Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), if completed as planned, threatens to undermine stricter tar sands regulations in Canada and stronger climate policies in Europe. Published by The Council of Canadians, Friends of the Earth Europe, Indigenous Environmental Network, UK Tar Sands Network, January 2011.
CETA’s False Promises: Threats to food, water and jobs outweigh vain hope of increasing trade with Europe, Canadian Perspectives, Autumn 2010
Dinosaur Economics: Why a free trade pact with the European Union is an (old) bad idea, Canadian Perspectives, Spring 2010
The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement - Say bye to buy local - A primer on trade deals impacting Ontario, October 2009
Multimedia
AUDIO: Privatizing Water: Stuart Trew, Trade campaigner for The Council of Canadians. Part One of The Current, CBC, January 27, 2012
VIDEO: Maude Barlow discussing CETA in Guelph
VIDEO: Canada's Communities are not for sale! Exposing the dangers of CETA, CUPE, June 2011
AUDIO: Free trade deal with Europe threatens Canadian autonomy, Interview with Stuart Trew, Redeye: Vancouver Cooperative Radio, February 28, 2011
VIDEO: The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement - A Primer by the
Canadian Auto Workers union
AUDIO: Free trade deal with Europe threatens Canadian autonomy, Interview with Stuart Trew, Redeye: Vancouver Cooperative Radio, February 28, 2011
VIDEO: UK group protests Canada-EU trade deal in London, January 17, 2011
On Monday, January 17, 2011, the Council took part in a protest outside the European Commission during the sixth round of Canada-European Union trade negotiations (read more), which was 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 the following week by IEN, Canadian Union of Public Employees, National Farmers Union and ATTAC-Quebec -- all members of the Trade Justice Network (tradejustice.ca).
Photostream from Brussels and Strasbourg January 17-21, 2011 during the sixth round of Canada-European Union trade negotiations (read more)
AUDIO: Terry Boehm, president of the National Farmers Union, speaks about the dangers of CETA (MP3)
AUDIO: Stuart Trew, trade campaigner for the Council of Canadians, interviewed on Radio Canada International about the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, December 21, 2010
CETA: Treat or Trick
On Friday, October 22, 2010 more than 400 people gathered to protest outside Old City Hall in Ottawa where the fifth round of negotiations on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement were taking place.
Speakers included Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians, Terry Boehm of the National Farmers Union, Peggy Nash of the Canadian Auto Workers, Clayton Thomas-Muller of the Indigenous Environmental Network, Claude Vaillancourt of ATTAC-Quebec, Dave Coles of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, Denis Lemelin of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and Hassan Yussuff of the Canadian Labour Congress. Read a copy of the letter here.
Photostream of Trick or Treat Action, October 22, 2010
VIDEO: Accord de libre-échange Canada-Union européenne: Quels enjeux pour le Québec, face à quelle Europe? Organisé par le Réseau pour un commerce juste, et l’Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l’action citoyenne (ATTAC Quebec) mardi 20 avril 2010
- Partie 1 – Dorval Brunelle (UQAM), Catherine Caron (ATTAC Quebec), Rolv Hanssen (Internationale des services publics – Norvège), Frédéric Viale (ATTAC France)
- Partie 2 – Frédéric Viale (cont)
VIDEO: Maude Barlow talks about a new trade deal that is bad for Canada and about ongoing work on water sustainability issues. Allan Gregg In Conversation, April 20, 2010
VIDEO: Trade Justice Network public forum - As Canadian and European trade negotiators gathered in Ottawa for a third round of free trade negotiations, the Trade Justice Network publicly released a draft text of the proposed Canada-European Union Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). April 19, 2010 (Also watch: Part II, Part III)
The Trade Justice Network, a newly formed group of which the Council of Canadians is a founding member, is comprised of environmental, labour, farmer, cultural and social justice organizations who have come together to challenge the Canada-EU free trade negotiations (CETA). The network has serious concerns about the potential impact on social and environmental policy, and public services in both Canada and Europe, and have proposed conditions that must be met before negotiations should continue.
The Trade Justice Network publicly released a draft text of the proposed Canada-European Union Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as Canadian and European trade negotiators gathered in Ottawa for a third round of free trade negotiations on April 19, 2010. Download the leaked CETA text at www.tradejustice.ca.
Media highlights
- Victoria asks to be excluded from Canada-EU free trade deal; Council of Canadians celebrates vote for transparency and democracy, May 11, 2012
- Harper’s dazzling and distracting Canada-EU trade promotion tour fails to answer tough questions about the deal, says Council of Canadians, April 27, 2012
- Blink and you could miss Harper’s 18-minister promo tour for Canada-EU trade deal, April 27, 2012
- Canada-EU trade should not be concluded in its current form, says Council of Canadians, April 23, 2012
- Municipal opposition grows to Canada-EU trade pact, March 12, 2012
- Toronto asks to be excluded from Canada-EU free trade deal; Council of Canadians celebrates vote for transparency and democracy, March 7, 2012
- Premier Selinger Gets the Message: Over 100,000 Manitobans Don’t Want CETA! March 2, 2012
- Provinces must seek a public mandate on Canada-EU trade deal, February 28, 2012
- OP-ED: With Trade Deal, Will Canada Give EU 'Right to Profit' on Water? Maude Barlow and Paul Moist, The Tyee, February 2, 2012
- OP-ED: Documents show CETA ill-advised, Stuart Trew, The StarPhoenix, February 2, 2012
- New leaked Canada-EU trade documents show Canada "open for business" for water privatization, say CUPE, Council of Canadians, January 26, 2012
- Toronto faces hidden threats from Canada-Europe trade deal, say councillors and community groups, January 23, 2012
- McClelland & Stewart takeover a CETA bargaining chip, says Council of Canadians, January 16, 2012
- Canada-EU Trade Deal: Council of Canadians adds Hamilton, Ontario to interactive map of municipalities seeking exemption from CETA, December 15, 2011
- Toronto councillors encouraged to take city out of Canada-EU trade deal: Council of Canadians, November 28, 2011
- AUDIO MP3: Stop CETA: Nasty Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union, Interview with Stuart Trew from Council of Canadians about CETA, CKUT News, November 23, 2011
- MPs not getting a full picture on Canada-EU trade deal, committee told, November 22, 2011
- VIEW: Many Loose Ends in Canada-EU Trade Deal, Stuart Trew, The Mark, November 16, 2011
- European parliament urged to ignore Canadian lobbying, protect fuel quality directive from Canada-EU trade deal, October 20, 2011
- Canada-EU Free Trade Negotiations (CETA): Civil Society Critics of Canada-EU trade deal to deliver Trojan Horse to Parliament, October 14, 2011
- Tar sands value in EU fuel quality policy despite Canadian lobbying is a positive step, says Council of Canadians, October 4, 2011
- Council of Canadians welcomes CETA critic to Harper's communications team, September 1, 2011
- OP-ED: Stakes are High in the EU-Canada Trade Deal, Stuart Trew, The Mark, August 9, 2011
- Time to open up the Canada-EU free trade deal, say groups in Europe following 8th round of negotiations, July 15, 2011
- Canadian and Quebec labour, environmental, civil society groups to challenge Canada-EU trade negotiations in Europe, July 7, 2011
- Tar Sands campaigners challenge Canada-EU trade talks in Brussels, July 7, 2011
- Trade deal a gamble for municipalities, The Chronicle Herald, Angela Giles, June 9, 2011
- Council of Canadians welcomes European Parliament’s concerns about Canada-EU trade deal, June 8, 2011
- Harper is gambling away municipal rights with EU trade deal, Council of Canadians tells FCM delegates, June 3, 2011
- On Eve of Election, Harper's EU Trade Agenda Challenged in Party Survey, April 29, 2011
- Trade Justice Network releases secret draft of Canada-European Union free trade agreement, makes demands of Canadian and European governments, April 19, 2010
- Canadian lobbying against EU climate policy must end, says joint letter ahead of trade talks, April 8, 2011
- Election postpones Canada-EU trade offers; now is the time to debate the deal, says Council of Canadians, April 6, 2011
- Canada must cease its lobbying against EU climate policy, says Council of Canadians, April 4, 2011
- Atlantic Canada should reject Harper's false trade promises, Council of Canadians, March 31, 2011
- EU study shows Canada free-trade deal far less lucrative than projected, Postmedia News, March 30, 2011
- N.S. rights must be protected in Canada-EU trade talks, Angela Giles & Danny Cavanagh, The Chronicle Herald, January 29, 2011
- Trade agreement would restrict municipalities, Guelph Mercury, Norah Chaloner, Council of Canadians Guelph Chapter, January 20, 2011
- Canada-EU talks facing delays, Embassy Magazine, January 19, 2010
- Free trade talks continue between Canada and EU, Toronto Sun, January 18, 2010
- Stop Tar Sands Trade Talks - Trans-Atlantic Civil Society Action Targets Canada-Europe Bilateral Trade Talks, Council of Canadians, January 17, 2011
- Council of Canadians to warn EU parliament of trade threats to public water, tar sands, democracy, Council of Canadians, January 14, 2011
- Trade talks targeted by civil society over Tar Sands connection, Council of Canadians, January 14, 2011
- NEWS: Barlow prepares for new trade fight, Guelph Mercury, January 12, 2011
- OP-ED: What you don’t know about a deal you haven’t heard of, The Globe and Mail, Maude Barlow, January 6, 2011
- OP-ED: Canada-EU Trade Talks Are Putting Public Water at Risk, The Epoch Times, Stuart Trew & Kelti Cameron, December 23, 2010
- Canada-EU trade talks put Canada’s water up for sale, says new report, December 16, 2010
- New legal opinion warns of EU trade impacts on tar sands, Council of Canadians, November 5, 2010
- First Nations Representatives from Tar Sands impacted regions, meet with Members of European Parliament in Ottawa, November 4, 2010
- European consumers warned that trade deal with Canada could be used to weaken GMO regulations, October 22, 2009
- Canada needs comprehensive trade impact assessment, Embassy, September 29, 2010
- EU trade deal threatens public water in Canada, Meera Karunananthan and Stuart Trew, Windsor Star, August 26, 2010
- CETA and the provinces, Epoch Times, Stuart Trew, August 20, 2010
- CFIA ’s Irresponsible Rubber-Stamping of New Genetically Engineered Corn, Joint press release, July 24, 2009
- Canada-Europe trade deal threatens public water in Canada, Blog post by Meera Karunananthan, July 19, 2010
Open Civil Society Declaration
Letter endorsed by civil society groups on the inadequacy of the government’s Canada-EU trade briefings
On February 23, 2010, the Council of Canadians and other organizations sent a letter to International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan concerning the government’s civil society briefings on the Canada-European Union free trade negotiations. “These hour-long sessions do not represent in any way a public consultation, which is long overdue for the CETA agreement,” says the letter. “There have been no preliminary, independent studies or any broad civil society debate and consultation to assess the impact of a potential cross-Atlantic free trade agreement on public policy and public services, the economy, poverty, gender, culture, human rights and the environment… We look forward to your response and your suggestions on how to proceed from now on with this important negotiation.” Read the letter »
Response to civil society letter from Trade Minister Peter Van Loan, April 1, 2010
Majority of Canadians want Canada-EU trade deal text released now
The Council of Canadians has found that 77% of Canadians want the draft text of a sweeping new Canada-European Union trade deal made public before the October 14 federal election vote, in a poll conducted by Strategic Communications. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has reportedly decided not to release the draft text and internal study of the trade deal that is said to exceed NAFTA in scope, despite talks on the deal that will take place in Montreal just three days after the election. The poll also shows that 67% of Conservative voters believe that the draft text should be released right away. More »
Read the full poll results »Presentation to Toronto City Council, Executive Committee Re: Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Stuart Trew, Trade Campaigner for the Council of Canadians, February 13, 2012
Prominent voices from Canada, Quebec and Europe denounce Canada-EU free trade negotiations
An open letter signed by Maude Barlow, Naomi Klein, Stephen Lewis, and prominent public figures from Quebec and Europe, denounces the Canada-EU free trade negotiations as overly secretive and asserts that the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, would “liberalize and deregulate even more sectors of the economy than previous free trade agreements.” Read the media release here. Read the letter here.
Submission to Standing Committee on International Trade re CETA,
The Council of Canadians,
November 22, 2011
Submissions to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, City of Toronto Re: Solid Waste Management Services Garbage Collection Request for Quotations (RFQs), The Council of Canadians, April 26, 2011
Open letter: CETA - Transnational Corporations Must Not Write Our Laws! Attac-France, Attac-Québec, in collaboration with the Council of Canadians, October 20, 2010
A Critical Assessment of the Proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Between the European Union and Canada: A joint position of the European Federation of Public Service Unions and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the National Union of Public and General Employees and the Public Service Alliance of Canada
Canadian CED Network (Community Economic Development) letter to premiers on CETA and procurement The Canadian CED Network has sent a letter to the premier of each province and territory across Canada requesting their position on granting the European Union unrestricted access to procurement at the sub-national level in Canada through the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Considering the EU-Canada trade agreement: What kind of partner in the EU? Presentation by Frederic Viale, April 2010
Negotiating from Weakness: Canada-EU trade treaty threatens Canadian purchasing policies and public services, Scott Sinclair, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, April 19, 2010
Press release: Secret details released about Canada-European Union free trade talks, Public Services International, April 19, 2010
Communiqué de presse : Divulgation d’informations secrètes sur les négociations relatives au libre-échange entre le Canada et l’UE, Internationale des Services Publics, 19 avril 2010
Letter to Steve Verheul, Chief Negotiator (CETA) - Re: Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Negotiations, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, February 23, 2010 (en français)
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) letter to Stockwell Day regarding inclusion of postal services in CETA (July 10, 2009) “…We understand that the EU has identified postal services as one of its priority service sectors in these negotiations. CUPW would like assurances that our government has not agreed, and will not agree, to put postal services on the table.”
Stockwell Day’s response to CUPW regarding postal services in the CETA negotiations (August 10, 2009) “…both parties decided that no mode of supply or services sector should be excluded a-priori. This essentially means that all sectors can be considered subject to negotiation… With respect to postal services, Canada has never requested nor offered in any of its trade agreements commitments on postal services. Stakeholder inputs are important elements that help shape our domestic position. Other important elements include the recent strategic review of the Canada Post Corporation including the guiding principles an4 as yet to be developed, the Government response to the final report.”
Sample letter: Canada‐EU trade agreement. Ontario Bye to Buy Local trade tour handout, October 2009.
Charest's European free trade gamble, By Stuart Trew and Claude Vaillancourt, Rabble News, October 23, 2009
CFIA ’s Irresponsible Rubber-Stamping of New Genetically Engineered Corn
Press Release, July 24, 2009
Farmer and environmental groups in the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) are warning of several dangerous consequences of Canada’s approval of Monsanto and Dow’s new eight-trait “SmartStax” genetically engineered (GE, also called genetic modification or GM) corn, indicating a further weakening of regulations of environmental risk. More »
It’s far too modest to call this a free trade deal, by Paul Wells in Maclean’s magazine, May 6, 2009
Are EU trade talks behind the pressure to end local procurement?
By Blair Redlin (CUPE)
CD Howe Institute backs Canada-EU deal and deep integration through NAFTA renegotiation, Posted by Brent Patterson, September 24, 2008
Alan Alexandroff, who recently co-wrote a CD Howe Institute paper on NAFTA titled 'Still Amigos', writes in today's Globe and Mail that, "As Canada readies for a massive free-trade negotiation - perhaps starting as early as Oct. 17 - many hope the talks between Canadian and European officials could eventually result in a wide-ranging agreement. Such an EU-Canada agreement could even exceed NAFTA's scope by guaranteeing the free movement of skilled labour, free exchange of services and competitive public procurement." More »
CETA Index
- Fact sheets & handbills
- Reports
- Action alerts
- Multimedia
- Media highlights
- Open Civil Society Declaration
- Submissions positions & letters
Blog posts:
- Stuart Trew, Trade Campaigner, Council of Canadians
- Brent Patterson, Director of Campaigns and Communications, Council of Canadians
VIDEO: Maude Barlow discussing CETA in Guelph
OP-ED: What you don’t know about a deal you haven’t heard of, The Globe and Mail, Maude Barlow, January 6, 2011
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- twitter.com/CETAWatch Hashtags: #CETA, #cdnpoli (Canadian politics), #hw (housewatch)
