German television show leaks CETA, Council of Canadians says deal will not survive public scrutin

The Council of Canadians is pleased that the Canada-EU trade deal, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), has seen the light of day after German television show Tagesschau provided the full text online this afternoon.

 

“Throughout the process, this agreement and its devastating impacts have been kept locked away from legislators and the public, shielded from a democratic process. Finally, it comes to light, probably because people in Germany are fed up with the secrecy and fed up with being taken hostage by companies,” says Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians national chairperson.

 

The Harper government has celebrated the completion of the agreement this week, setting a signing date of September 26. CETA’s investor-state dispute settlement provisions have been on the radar in Germany, where there is opposition to them. They would allow corporations to sue countries for lost profit. The Vattenfall decision, where a company sued Germany for pulling out of the nuclear industry, is fresh in Germany’s mind after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

 

“Obviously, the Harper government is tone deaf when it comes to relations with Germany and the growing opposition to CETA. We are committed to working with the opposition in Europe to kill this ‘corporate bill of rights,’” remarked Barlow.

 

Other observations:

 

• This text (and earlier versions of it) should have been made public to give the public the appropriate amount of time to read it, discern its contents and comment on it fully. The whole CETA negotiation process has been undemocratic, and has failed in terms of transparency.
• The 25-page investor-state section appears to be a standard investor-state dispute settlement: a three-person panel that would make decisions rather than the mature court systems. This probably will not placate Germany.
• The 30-page procurement section appears to give no consideration to the numerous Canadian municipalities that requested to be exempted from its provisions.
• The EU language was adopted on resolution of pharmaceutical patent disputes. This will open the flood gates to pharmaceutical companies’ law suits. This will lengthen patent lengths and delay generics coming to market. In the end, this could severely increase public health care costs by $900 million to $1.7 billion.
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The Council of Canadians is a major player in this battle and was the first to challenge CETA. The Council is available for further comment on this breaking story.

 

See http://www.canadians.org/blog/ceta-will-likely-be-signed-it-will-also-implode for more information.

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UWUA Wins at National Labor Relations Board

National Labor Relations Board Holds American Water Illegally Slashed Employee Benefits

 

For immediate release:

August 4, 2014

 

For more information contact:

Sam McKnight, (248) 354-5608

 

Washington, D.C.  The U.S. National Labor Relations Board has issued a decision holding that American Water illegally slashed healthcare and other benefits for 3,200 workers in nearly 70 different bargaining units in fifteen states across the U.S.

 

The July 31, 2014, decision finds that American Water illegally imposed cuts in employee healthcare, retiree health, and disability benefits on January 1, 2011 without having notified state mediation agencies about the ongoing bargaining dispute, as required by federal labor law.

 

The decision orders the company to pay backpay with interest to all affected workers and to restore the illegal cuts in employee benefits.  The Utility Workers Union of America, which filed the charge against the company, estimates American Water’s backpay liability in the case to be several million dollars.

 

“This decision is another huge step in our efforts to win justice for American Water employees,” declared Michael Langford, UWUA National President.  “We will continue challenging this company’s unfair attacks against working families until American Water learns that it is not above the law.”

 

The NLRB decision involves benefit cuts imposed unilaterally by American Water – the largest for-profit water utility company in the U.S. – in January 2011 during negotiations for a new national benefits agreement.  The NLRB rejected the company’s claim that it was not required to notify state mediation agencies about the dispute, despite an explicit provision of the National Labor Relations Act providing that any available state mediation agency must be notified.

 

The agreement is negotiated by a coalition of nine national and international unions led by the UWUA, and covers 3,200 union workers across the U.S.  The UWUA represents the largest number of American Water bargaining units and 2,400 of the company’s 7,000 employees.

 

The NLRB decision applies to union workers at American Water locations in California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

 

The UWUA represents 50,000 working men and women in the utility and related industries throughout the U.S., including 2,400 employees of American Water in eleven states.  A copy of the NLRB’s decision is available athttp://mynlrb.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45817ed695.

 

Investor-State Dispute Settlement in the TTIP and CETA

Submission to the European Commission's Public Consultation

One of the most controversial elements of modern trade treaties is the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which allows foreign investors to bypass domestic courts and directly challenge government measures before unaccountable arbitration tribunals. 

ISDS is slated to be a key feature of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the U.S. and the European Union (EU). The planned provisions are modelled on the ISDS mechanism in the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). 

Faced with unprecedented levels of public criticism, however, the European Commission has paused the TTIP negotiations on ISDS in order to consult the public.  In his submission to the consultation, Scott Sinclair, CCPA’s senior trade policy researcher, argues that there is no credible justification for including ISDS in either the CETA or the TTIP. - See more at: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/investor-state-dispute-settlement-ttip-and-ceta#sthash.QkJoO0GA.dpuf

Canadians deliver water to protest Detroit shutoffs

DETROIT - Protesters fighting water shutoffs in Detroit greeted aconvoy of Canadians who traveled to the city with hundreds of gallons of water to help those who have been cut off because of unpaid bills.

Maude Barlow, a leading water rights advocate in Canada, and other activists brought 750 gallons of water in a seven-vehicle convoy that traveled through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to deliver the water and the message that the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's policy of shutting off service to delinquent customers violates the United Nations' 2010 declaration that water is a human right.

Read the full story at The Times Herald.

President Saunders' full keynote speech from the first day of AFSCME's 41st International Convention.

Thousands protest Detroit water shutoffs

About 2,000 nurses, community activists and others called on Detroit officials Friday to stop shutting off water to thousands of customers who are behind on their bills.

Protesters trying to prevent crews from conducting the shutoffs also picketed earlier in the day outside the offices of a private contractor working for the city.

The water issue gained national attention last month after activists appealed to the United Nations for assistance, and is a pending issue as the city prepares for an August trial on the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

"Depriving Detroit residents of water they need cannot be condoned in a civilized society," said Jean Ross of National Nurses United, the group leading the demonstration through several blocks of downtown that included the chant, "Whose water? Our water!" Thousands protest Detroit water shutoffs | National Nurses United