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Dissenting Opinion
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Report on Advancing Canada’s Relations With the United States and Mexico
Svend J. Robinson, MP
The New Democratic Party dissents from this report. Far from deepening the level of integration between Canada and the US, New Democrats believe that we must re-assert our sovereignty and independence. If we are not to lose our country, we must vigorously resist any further American economic, military, or social domination of Canada, and instead strengthen our ability to fully protect our sovereignty and to speak with a respected independent voice internationally. There is a long history of friendship between the American people and Canadians. Our quarrel is not with the American people, it is with their governments’ policies. We believe that Canada must exercise great caution when considering the advancement of relations with our North American neighbours, particularly given the experience of the FTA and NAFTA, and the loss of Canadian democratic control over our sovereignty to which these have led. Furthermore, it is imperative that Canada recognize the risks involved in closer ties to the United States, the global hegemon in terms of economic and military power, as well as cultural influence. If Canada is to maintain its identity, values, institutions, and its independent voice in global affairs, we must choose very carefully the ways in which we associate ourselves with our continental neighbours.
While my New Democrat colleagues and I acknowledge and value the dedication and hard work of my fellow Committee members in holding extensive hearings with a wide variety of important witnesses on the subject of North American integration and security, in a number of important respects we cannot concur with the final report of the Committee. In some cases we dissent from the conclusions drawn by the majority, in others we find that the conclusions of the report do not accurately reflect the evidence heard by the Committee. Like my colleagues, I want to thank all of the witnesses who appeared before us. Their evidence was of great value for its depth and insight.
The NDP believes strongly that further integration of the North American nations must not continue on the basis of free trade agreements and the primacy of “competitiveness,” as these have dramatically reduced Canadian sovereignty in a wide array of policy issues, and eroded the democratic power of Canadians to determine their future. Under NAFTA, Canada has exposed many of its most cherished institutions to commodification and privatization. In seeking to further our economic ties with the United States, Canada has increasingly found it necessary to adopt American policy positions, both domestically and with regard to international relations. The New Democratic Party seeks to reverse this process, before Canada loses its independence.
In its report, the Committee has taken some small steps towards addressing some of these concerns. However, it does not go nearly far enough. The following are the key areas in which we believe that the majority report must be changed or strengthened:
| | 1. | The Report recommends increasing Canada’s economic integration with our North American neighbours through expansion of the NAFTA. New Democrats call for the fundamental renegotiation of NAFTA, (and failing that, abrogation), to take into consideration the many deleterious effects it has had in all three member countries. In particular, NAFTA has had a serious impact on democracy and sovereignty in Canada, as it has led to a growing trend to enhance corporate power at the expense of democratically elected officials at all levels of government. The best example of this is NAFTA’s Chapter 11. We have seen how national governments have been forced to permit foreign corporations to sell harmful, toxic materials, or to damage the environment in cases like Metalclad, Methanex, and MMT. NAFTA as a whole has been shown to have had a negative impact on the environment, as documented recently in a report of the NAFTA Environment Commission. We must do everything in our power to oppose US approval of proposed drilling in the environmentally sensitive Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The report recommends that the Government hold discussions with the US and Mexico regarding the strengthening and improvement of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation. We believe that these two side agreements should be incorporated into the NAFTA itself, and given real powers to ensure that the environment and human rights are not subjugated to the primacy of trade at any cost. We have also seen how necessary public services like Canada Post have been threatened by foreign competitors, as in the current UPS NAFTA claim. Public education in Canada is also at risk under NAFTA. There are very real concerns that Canada’s energy sovereignty and our ability to prevent bulk water exports are jeopardized by NAFTA. Our ability to expand social programs like medicare into areas such as home care, dental care, or a national drug plan is constrained by the interests of foreign investors under NAFTA. The Canadian government exposes itself to NAFTA challenges if it seeks to protect the health of Canadians through restrictions on cigarette advertising, or through the prevention of the use of terms like “light” or “mild” on cigarette packaging. Furthermore, Canadian cultural sovereignty is exposed to NAFTA claims under Chapter 11, raising the possibility that Canada could be prevented from protecting our cultural industry from direct competition with that of our much larger neighbours to the south. If Canada cannot renegotiate to eliminate Chapter 11 from NAFTA and to find effective solutions to these and other identified problems, then the Government should give notice of its intention to abrogate and replace the entire agreement. |
| | 2. | The report also recommends that the Government consider moving towards a North American customs union. The NDP dissents from this recommendation. We believe that cross-border business can be conducted efficiently without this measure, which would impinge on Canadian sovereignty over our borders. The Report does not recognize that the United States has proven to be an unwilling participant in free trade, whether in NAFTA or the WTO, and indeed, has shown contempt for the concept in areas such as agricultural subsidies, steel, and softwood lumber. American dumping of highly-subsidized agricultural products in Mexico has had the effect of driving Mexican peasant farmers off their land. Furthermore, the US is attempting another assault on Canadian sovereignty by challenging the legitimacy of the Canadian Wheat Board at the WTO. Indeed, all of Canada’s agricultural supply management policies are threatened under the WTO. Canada should be far more aggressive in pursuing remedies under trade agreements like NAFTA and the WTO. It is clear from their record that the Americans are only interested in facilitating cross-border trade when they can profit from it, and given this cherrypicking approach to international agreements, it would be foolish for Canada to pursue increased integration of our markets with our southern neighbour. |
| | 3. | The Report does not take note of the destructive effects of growing foreign ownership in the Canadian economy. The NDP joins with other concerned Canadians, including Mel Hurtig, in calling for the restoration of tough screening measures to be applied to all foreign investment, to ensure that it is in the interest of Canadians. |
| | 4. | The Report ignores the issue of American contempt for the sovereignty of Canadian borders and law. In the recent Licht case, the US Drug Enforcement Agency was found to have acted illegally when one of its agents entered Canada without proper immigration status to carry out an illegal activity without the knowledge or consent of the RCMP, and knowing that the RCMP had withdrawn consent to further involvement in its reverse sting operation. The BC Supreme Court accordingly threw out the DEA’s case to have Mr. Licht extradited to the US. The Government of Canada must speak out against this outrageous conduct. Furthermore, Canada must reiterate its call on the American government to free Leonard Peltier after abusing the Canadian extradition process to have him sent to the US. |
| | 5. | The Report makes no mention of the need for public disclosure of all Canadian military sales to the United States. Canadian manufacturers must not be allowed to supply the US military with Canadian technology under the cover of secrecy. The recent example of Canadian helicopters supplied to the Americans being used as part of their Plan Colombia, which Canada should be rejecting, illustrates this problem. |
| | 6. | The Report fails to call upon the Government to voice its concern regarding growing US unilateralism on the international scene. At this time the US is threatening to attack Iraq unilaterally should it determine that Iraq has breached UN Security Council Resolution 1441. We have also recently seen the Americans oppose or withdraw their participation from the Kyoto Protocol, the land mines treaty, biological weapons inspections, the ABM treaty, and the International Criminal Court. This last example is particularly odious, suggesting as it does that Americans should be above international law. Canada must strongly reject any American requests for a bilateral exemption from the ICC. Furthermore, Canada must denounce US attempts to apply their futile embargo on Cuba extraterritorially in Canada, as they have recently in the case of Canadian citizen James Sabzali, who was convicted in the United States in part for conducting business with Cuba while in Canada. |
| | 7. | The Report recommends that the Government take no decision at this time regarding whether or not to participate in or support the American missile defence system. The NDP strongly opposes this recommendation, and we note with concern that Canada has tacitly granted its support for NMD by providing financing to a Canadian company, CAE Inc., contracted to work on the system. Pentagon officials have admitted their intention to influence foreign governments to support NMD by involving businesses in those nations in the construction of the project. Their hope is that reticent governments will be swayed by the lobbying of domestic corporations eager to benefit from American contracts. The NDP urges the Government to refuse to participate in or otherwise contribute to NMD, and to cease financing to Canadian corporations intent on securing NMD contracts. Furthermore, we urge the Government to oppose any initiatives which would lead to the weaponization of space, to sign the Space Preservation Treaty, and to convene an emergency Space Preservation Treaty conference. |
| | 8. | New Democrats call for a full, comprehensive public review of Canada’s foreign, defence and security policies. The last such review took place in 1994, almost a decade ago, in a very different environment. New Democrats support fully the right of the dedicated men and women who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces to be treated with dignity and respect and recognition of the fact that they are prepared to put their lives on the line for our country. This must be reflected in the pay and benefits they receive, including housing and family support and protection of reservists’ jobs. As well, military personnel must be well equipped to carry out the tasks they are assigned, including peacekeeping, coastal surveillance, search and rescue and international humanitarian or combat missions under UN mandate and in conformity with international law. Dangerous or outdated equipment such as the Sea Kings must be replaced at the earliest possible time. Beyond these immediate needs, it is only following a comprehensive review of our foreign and defence policies as outlined above that any increases in the global military budget may be supported, and only to achieve the objectives identified by such a review and supported by New Democrats. Such a review must also deal with the serious concerns that have arisen concerning waste of resources by the military. Finally, Canada must vigorously protest pressure from the United States to increase our defence spending, in particular US Ambassador Paul Cellucci’s recent calls for such an increase. This is a totally unacceptable interference in Canadian decision making, and a thinly veiled attempt to bolster the US defence industry. |
| | 9. | The report should urge the Government to consider in its public review of Canada’s foreign and defence policies that security and defence depend on not just military prowess, but also on contributions to human rights, fighting environmental degradation, and tackling global poverty. In the last decade Canada’s official development assistance has fallen shamefully to 0.25% of GDP, and our OECD ranking of foreign aid donors has likewise slipped, to 17th place. While the NDP acknowledges the recent positive steps taken by the Government in announcing the doubling of the level of Canada’s foreign aid by 2010, Canada must re-commit immediately to achieving the UN target of 0.7% of GDP allocated to international development assistance. |
| | 10. | The Report should call upon Canada to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), both of which have become increasingly irrelevant since the fall of the USSR. NATO is too often an instrument of US defence policy. Recently in Prague, for example, President Bush hijacked the NATO agenda and attempted to push members into supporting a unilateral attack on Iraq. This was largely resisted, with members reaffirming a commitment to a multilateral approach under the umbrella of the UN. Our foreign and defence policies are constrained by our involvement in these organizations. Canada should instead work within the framework of a strengthened United Nations and multilateral bodies like the OSCE. Given the support for unilateral pre-emptive strikes by the American administration and government, as laid out in their National Security Strategy of September, 2002, Canada should distance itself from any integration of our defence policy with that of the Americans. The report neglects to recommend that the Government reject calls for the interoperability of Canadian and American military forces. Such arrangements serve only to make Canada a junior partner in US foreign policy. Canada should not be serving under the US in Afghanistan, nor anywhere else, except under the auspices of a United Nations mandate and in accordance with international law. In Afghanistan, serving under US command, Canadian forces turned captives over to the Americans, knowing that they were not being accorded their rights as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions (including the right to a tribunal to determine their status), to which we are a ratified member, and which are enshrined under domestic Canadian law as well. Currently a 16 year-old Canadian citizen named Omar Khadr is being held indefinitely at the American naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, having been captured in Afghanistan and determined by US forces to be an “enemy combatant.” Mr. Khadr has not been granted Canadian consular access by the Americans, he possibly faces the death penalty, and he is being imprisoned with adults, in direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions. On issues such as the international appeal to ban the use of landmines and nuclear disarmament, Canada compromises its position through the integration of our forces with those of the Americans. Indeed, NATO maintains the dangerous policy of permitting the first-use of nuclear of weapons. NATO’s recent adoption of an “out of area” doctrine, which expands its role far beyond its original mandate, is cause for further concern. It is clear that the US now sees itself as an imperial superpower, and has reserved for itself the right to pre-emptive strikes, including with nuclear weapons, in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations. Given this brazen disregard for international law, it is more important than ever that Canada maintain its independence from these dangerous policies. |
| | 11. | The report recommends that the Government consider the implications of establishing a security perimeter around North America. The NDP is opposed to this idea, as it would result in a serious diminution of Canadian sovereignty over our borders and our immigration policies. We must also oppose safe third country provisions as well. The impetus to establish a common security perimeter stems in part from the slow down in cross-border traffic. The reality is that this problem can be easily addressed through the current border infrastructure program and the implementation of adequate border staffing by Americans. If the Government does not address the issue of American staffing levels at border crossings, the problems with continue no matter what else is done. The report fails to acknowledge the callous disregard for Canadian citizenship displayed by American INS and security forces in recent months. The arbitrary detention of Canadians in the United States, such as Michel Jalbert, Maher Arar, Jaoudat Abou-Azza, and Mohammad Mansour Jabarah demonstrates the disregard with which the Americans view their commitments under international law, to say nothing of their consideration for their neighbours. In the case of Mr. Arar, he was deported to Syria, despite the fact that he was travelling in the United States on his Canadian passport. In the case of Mr. Abou-Azza, he was tortured while imprisoned in Massachusetts, before being deported to Canada, where he continues to be monitored and harassed by the FBI. In the case of Mr. Jabarah, the Americans informed Canada earlier this year that he is being detained, but only recently disclosed his location and the name of his appointed legal representative, and granted him consular access. Furthermore, the recent decision to begin formal racial profiling measures when dealing with Canadian citizens and permanent residents at US points of entry suggests a blatant disregard for Canadian security policies, and may be an attempt to bully Canada into adopting US immigration policy. Canadian author Rohinton Mistry was forced to cancel his American promotional tour because he could not bear the humiliation he was forced to endure at US points of entry each time he entered the country. Numerous other Canadians have suffered egregious treatment when trying to enter the United States, only because of their ethnic background. When a Canadian woman of Iranian descent went through US customs at the Vancouver airport, she was taken aside for fingerprinting and photographs. Outraged at being treated like a criminal, she announced that she would cancel her trip, and asked to leave. The INS officer refused her permission to leave, claimed that she was already considered to be in US territory, and told her she would need to submit to the humiliating process of registration regardless of whether or not she boarded her flight to the US. Canada must do much more to stop this US policy of singling out in a discriminatory way Muslims and Arab-Canadians. |
| | 12. | The New Democrats support the report’s recommendations on measures intended to strengthen Canada’s ties with Mexico, particularly in the areas of parliamentary exchanges and exchange programs for youth. |
These are the key areas in which we believe the report should be strengthened.
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