Friday, February 12, 2016

Time For The End Of ‘Nice”. Time For Political Will.




Time For The End Of ‘Nice”.  Time For Political Will.




Written by Robin Mathews
 

One of the greatest errors of our time and place may well be the “error” revealed in Murray Dobbin’s post of Feb. 5, 2016, about the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) trade deal. Rich in information, the article uncovers  real destruction of Canadian legislation. And - more importantly – it points to Canadian legislation which is knee-capped before even being made visible as possible, positive direction for the country to take. Murray Dobbin uses as evidence of the destructiveness of Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions the (signed 1992) NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

So what is Murray Dobbin’s possible “greatest error of our time and place?”

It is his ‘gentlemanly’, his ‘reasonable’, his ‘moderate’ approach to an (apparent) act of Liberal government sell-out.  It is his willingness, by his ‘balanced’, restrained’ style, to excuse the Liberal cabinet and to (therefore) water down the (already operating) gigantic attack upon the right of Canadians to legislate for the good of the people and the country.

Dobbin takes the position that Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland (and, therefore, Justin Trudeau and the rest of the cabinet) “seems to be either ill-informed or misled” about the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision in the TPP which (experience shows) not only prevents positive legislation from being formulated, but permits punitive, expensive judgements against existing sovereign legislation that is claimed to obstruct profit-making by foreign interests in Canada.

Significantly, challenges have arisen most frequently to Canadian environmental protection laws/regulation and – what are closely connected – resource management laws/regulations (neither of which, at this time, are sufficiently demanding).

Enough!  The good manners or naivete of anyone which would allow that person to entertain the fiction that Trade Minister Freeland, Justin Trudeau, or anyone else in the Liberal cabinet might not really know what Investor State Dispute Settlement clauses mean … is simply preposterous.  Not believable. [Remember that historically the Liberal Party has often been the party of Free Trade/integration with the U.S.A.]

Let us not forget for a moment that – though Brian Mulroney signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992 – Jean Chretien, Liberal Party opposition leader, promised to re-negotiate NAFTA, and if re-negotiation was denied To Get Out Of It Altogether.  When Chretien was prime minister after 1993, the U.S.A. refused to renegotiate NAFTA.
Chretien collapsed completely, broke his election promise, and negotiated (at U.S. wish?) two supplements to NAFTA. The history of Free Trade with the U.S.A. is long … and dirty.

Free Trade deals with the U.S.A. have never been in Canada’s interest. For decades the two countries had many, many single-issue, mutually beneficial trade agreements. From the beginning Canadians knew Big Package Deals were toxic for Canada. Our first prime minister knew that well.

In the 1891 election, when the Liberal Party pushed hard for “Commercial Union” with the U.S.A., aging John A. Macdonald worked himself to death (literally) to defeat the Sell-Outs. When Free Trade with the U.S.A. was surfaced in the 1940’s, to Mackenzie King’s credit he not only rejected the idea but said he would come out of retirement to fight it if the idea was proposed by anyone.

Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau has just had the TPP signed … and promises a full debate… before ratification ….
Very clearly, Canadians are especially threatened by the new moves (historically) of large multi-national corporations backed by expansionist governments like the U.S.A., China, the European Union … to erase the power of Canadian government (by introducing a wholly new form of Private Corporate Court System), to peonize Canadians, and to pillage the wealth of the country … unchallenged.  In that situation Canadians must be certain, militant, unswerving, uncompromising, and aggressive facing Canadian law-makers and any others involved in what is – to put the matter simply – the wholesale sell-out of the Canadian people and its peaceable future.  There is no room for nice’.

It is no accident that Canada’s environmental law is one of the most attacked under Free Trade mechanisms.  That fact leads directly to The Disaster – called the November/December COP 21 Paris Environmental, 13 day (and night) Conference. Elizabeth May and Carol Linnett write about it ‘nicely’, ‘reasonably’, in a ‘balanced’ and ‘restrained’
way.  In the Jan/Feb issue of The Watershed Sentinel May calls the Paris Agreement (agreement?) “an historic and potentially life-saving agreement”. Ms. Linnett does “if” and “should be” and “important conversation”.  Ms. May’s potentially life-saving” is so far away and Ms. Linnet’s call for action so nice, serious people should fiercely reject the stance of both writers.

The Paris Environmental Conference was, quite simply, a victory for The One Per Cent … the very people who, under NAFTA, have attacked (and under any other like trade agreement will attack) Environmental Protection Laws and Regulations in Canada and anywhere else on the planet where it is possible to do so. They are the people who (for profit) are decimating the Middle East and watching the murder of millions in a Public Relations Orgy of almost unbelievable magnitude…as the Environment there becomes a torture chamber for a huge, innocent population.

At Davos, Switzerland just a few weeks after The Disaster at the Paris Environmental Conference, the representatives of The One Per Cent (The World Economic Forum, Jan. 23-26, 2016) met.  Concerned about Climate Change? Almost not at all.  According to Benjamin Hulac, since 2011, Climate Change has been considered there to be among the top five significant economic threats.  Lucy P. Marcus observes that the body meeting this year at Davos revealed (on all matters) “the inability or refusal to recognize the need for course correction.”  A repeated concern was of looming populism, or in other words growing global awareness of the reality: a criminal One Per Cent looting the world.

Whatever government does in Canada, Canadians must – more and more – face the gigantic threats: economic, environmental, and phoney-judicial of the present gangster regimes fighting for dominant power on the planet.  Canadians must say NO to the TPP, must attack head-on the Orgy of Public Relations lying intended to lead us to give up the wealth of Canada to gangsters. The Globe and Mail, just a few days ago, had a page-long editorial praising the TPP, and urging its acceptance – I don’t remember a word about the Investor State Dispute Settlement provision! (Canadian press and media sell-out goes on full-speed. O Canada!) Canadians must help to organize the 99% so it can work to de-activate and strip the wealth of the 1%, which presently possesses hugely disproportionate (often criminal) power in the world. That stripping has to be done before it is too late.

And the Canadians who write for other Canadians?  They should be repeating the final two sentences in the last paragraph over and over again for their readers. Perhaps, as well, they should begin suggesting forms of resistance.  A many country organization to prevent the next meeting of The World Economic Forum? If the TPP is ratified by the majority Liberal parliament, perhaps the Canadians who write for other Canadians should  - well in advance - suggest things like a major, on-going, relentless Parliament Hill Protest – with wholly new tactics…to bring down the Liberal government. Elsewhere in Canada how about wildcat stopping of train traffic?  After all, foreign and local representatives of The One Per Cent now control almost all railway operation in Canada.  Stopping rail traffic in Canada would be a way to target – directly – The One Per Cent ... and to make more Canadians aware of the stealth takeover of Canadian wealth, incentive, and sovereign government by people who see Canada as a cash cow, to milk … and toss aside.

Foolish ideas? Perhaps.  But at the present time almost all of the Canadians who write for other Canadians are doing everything but really facing the critical state of economic banditry, environmental desecration, and global corporate (and government) collusion to render Canada and the rest of the planet uninhabitable profit-fodder. 

Being nice in Canada often means wanting to be comfortable, wanting to please criminals in power.  That is the character – I am sure - of almost all writers in the so-called “Mainstream Press and Media”. Writers like Murray Dobbin and the others I refer to as ‘Canadians writing for Canadians’ are NOT in that category. So maybe its time for them to stop “being nice”. Maybe it’s time for them to suggest other Canadians, too, stop being nice….


Written by Robin Mathews

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Political will....No such animal, the only thing that motivates a government to act in the best interest of the people is when they fear for their own survival....Grant G..February 12th/2016


The Straight Goods
 Cheers Eyes Wide Open 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/taseko-files-lawsuit-against-ottawa-over-bc-gold-and-copper-mine-decision/article28745145/

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-12/welcome-obamas-recovery-carrier-moving-1400-jobs-mexico

https://twitter.com/Ian56789/status/697198004839776256

Hugh said...

"Canada, Mexico and the United States signed a draft agreement Friday to curb greenhouse gas emissions while increasing their energy interdependence.

The deal will see the three nations working together to better coordinate their energy resources as they move "towards a continental approach to energy," Canadian Resources Minister Jim Carr told a joint news conference with his US and Mexican counterparts in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The memorandum of understanding commits the North American Free Trade Agreement partners to share data on energy supplies and distribution, as well as new clean energy initiatives, accelerate development of technologies such as carbon capture and storage, and improve energy efficiency across the continent."

This is about more hijacking of BC Hydro's clean power system.

Article today:

http://phys.org/news/2016-02-canada-mexico-energy-pact.html


Hugh said...

Ford Canada CEO says TPP bad:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/trans-pacific-partnership-deal-bad-for-auto-sector-ford-canada-head-says/article26968929/

Note also how the Federal govt (ie taxpayers) are expected to fork out $$$ to give to companies negatively affected by these so-called trade deals.

Anonymous said...

http://nor-re.blogspot.ca/2016/02/therein-lies-road-to-perdition.html

Anonymous said...

Prime Minister Trudeau and all elected officials, NO to this horrible, destructive, un-Canadian deal.

Anonymous said...

http://www.standuptochina.ca/

Jon Ghun said...

Hell, yes, we need to start going on the offensive. Liken it to acting as a real loyal opposition: it would be a fine start for most folks round these parts.

But, then, it's also worth saying that ya' gotta' have a plan...upon taking power. Ya' have to take the lead and know sort of where you're wanting to go. Better and best if there's a clear, concise map or agenda to go on. Without that, the ship of state flounders invariably and rather quickly.

The thing about crispy and the crony cohorts is, they all agree on what they want to do--get more. They are like hedgehogs in their simplicity. They just do more. Be it bridges, dams, LNG, IPPs, regress taxes, oh hell yesss, bring on more of all of it. Privatize profits, socialize costs--on that, they're all very clear. That alone is the basis of the appeal they enjoy (with some so inclined).

The rest of us, though, are, well, a lot less easy to unite. Like trying to herd foxes, or cats, as they say back home. Might be time to start offering a plot, as well as whole bunch of time and effort.

Mr.Matthews is absolutely right. It's past time to face up to this band of pirates so as to defeat and dis-empower them thoroughly.

To begin with, let's go on the offensive and start being very clear about what a huge tax gift these b.c.libs have slyly shifted to their cronies in the bigger brackets. While the average person (70-80%) is paying far more in taxes, fees, etc., than before the bclibs came to power in 2001. The other brackets have been allowed to keep much more and eagerly form most of the loyal sponsors of the bclibs. At the end of the day, the bottom line is that the average voter is voting against their wallet when they elect bclibs, mostly because they are unaware of how they are being swindled in the government vig. So let's tell them. And the main media corps(e) don't want to know--then, screw 'em, we'll go around them.

John's aghast said...

Absolutely right Jon! "..they are unaware of how they are being swindled..." And just how do you propose going around them? We've been searching for that solution since before Chrispy rose to power.
The average taxpayer doesn't have the time or resources to search out the truth. Most depended on the MS media to tell them, in the good old days. That doesn't work anymore.
I welcome your suggestion and will do my part to implement it!

Jon Ghun said...

Keep it simple and scream it from the rooftops:

Their balanced-budget, debt-free BC is bullshit.

This is how it's done: borrow and spend on capital assets but don't count spending; sell capital assets but count the revenue. Raise fees on everything and plunder excess reserves. Force crown corps to pay dividends, even if that means borrowing and increasing debt.


By 2018-2019, debt forecast to be almost $72B. It was $45B when Clark came to power in 2011.