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The Trans-Pacific Partnership would cause job losses, gives too much power to corporations and should not be ratified, Unifor Local 444 President Dino Chiodo told hearings into the deal.
“Ultimately, Canada needs to rethink its general approach to trade. Rejecting the TPP might help kick-start this discussion, and that’s not a bad thing,” Chiodo told the hearings is they passed through Windsor.
“A principled and fair trade framework could provide us a new lens to explore trade enhancement – in a manner that’s intentionally transparent, collaborative, that’s mutually beneficial and strives to raise standards for all workers and citizens across nations.”
Chiodo noted that the deal provides for eliminating auto tariffs in Canada over six years, while similar tariffs in the U.S. would be eliminated over 25 years. That, he said, will cost thousands of jobs in Windsor and across Ontario.
“These rules will simply encourage automakers to explore new sourcing arrangements from lower-wage jurisdictions,” he said.
“The TPP offers no benefit to Canada’s auto industry. We’ve seen what bad trade policy can do to our jobs, and we don’t need more of it.”
Provisions in the deal, known as the Investor State Dispute Settlement system, would corporations to sue governments for passing laws that hurt their profits, even if those laws are in the public interest. There is no provision, however, for corporations to be sued for violating labour or environmental rules.
Canada is already the most sued country under such provisions in other trade pacts, Chiodo said, and the TPP promises more of the same. Just last week, U.S. company Windstream Energy launched a $475-million lawsuit under NAFTA, after Ontario cancelled a series of wind farm projects in 2011.
“This is a deal we simply cannot accept. The potential damage this will bring to the Windsor community in the long-term is severe,” Chiodo said.
Outside the Windsor hearings, more than 150 people gathered to urge the new Liberal government not to ratify the deal.
“We are demanding that the Liberals come clean and listen to Canadians,” said Unifor Local 200 President Chris Taylor.
For more information on the TPP including sector reports, go to unifor.org/tpp.
