Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, July 15, 2011

Canada on track to clinch EU free-trade deal, Tories say

The Harper government says it's successfully concluded an eighth round of free trade negotiations with the European Union and is on track to clinch a deal by 2012.

During discussions in Brussels this week, Canada and the 27-member country EU traded offers to open up their respective markets in the fields of goods and government purchasing.

International Trade Minister Ed Fast described the eighth round as having made “important progress” toward an agreement.

Canadians officials are declining to release details on what this country is offering the EU in terms of greater access to Canada's markets, saying public release right now would harm Ottawa's negotiating position.

Mr. Fast however hinted that Canada is prepared to offer the Europeans significant concessions, calling both sides' offers on goods and government purchasing “ambitious” in scope.

He tried to assure Canadians however that Ottawa will come away from the table with gains, rather than losses, for employees and businesses in Canada.

“These negotiations represent our most significant trade initiative since the North American Free Trade Agreement, and our government is vigorously defending Canada's interests to ensure that any agreement we sign benefits Canadian workers, businesses and their families,” Mr. Fast said in a prepared statement.

A Canada-EU joint economic study, released in October 2008, predicted that free trade agreement between the two jurisdictions could boost Canadian economic output by at least $12-billion annually and bring gains for the country's industries, from aerospace to wood products.

Full Article
Source: Globe & Mail 

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