Stop Canada-Colombia trade negotiations

I just received this via e-mail from Make Poverty History. I will put up background information on this over the next while, but I wanted to get this out to get people thinking about it. I'm still in the process of accumulating info on this.

I am writing to you today to ask for your help in stopping a dangerous trade deal that you have probably never heard of. The government of Canada is negotiating a trade deal with Colombia, a country that Human Rights Watch calls the “worst human rights and humanitarian disaster” in the Americas.

This controversial deal will make many poor in Colombia worse off and help support a government involved in serious human rights abuses. The US Congress refused to approve a similar deal earlier this year, citing human rights abuses. If Canadians don’t speak up, this deal can be passed without parliamentary approval or public debate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to your Member of Parliament and insist that this deal not go through without a full debate in Parliament and the explicit approval of our elected representatives >>

There is not much time – negotiations are underway, and are set to be completed before the end of the year. Millions of people in Colombia have been displaced through a violent conflict over land and resources. Transnational companies have become complicit in this violence. Many people living in poverty in Colombia are concerned that this deal increases the power of corporations at the expense of the poor.

Act in solidarity with Colombian social justice activists. Tell others that trade is a matter that affects poverty and human rights, and that you care. Speak out now!
Dennis Howlett picture

Dennis Howlett
Coordinator
Make Poverty History

PS. If you want to hear from a Colombian about their concerns regarding the deal, check out the interview with Bishop Juan Alberto Cardona of the Methodist Church of Colombia at makepovertyhistory.ca/e/colombia

PPS. Many thanks to the more than 9,000 people who signed the petition to the Senate to pass the Better Aid Bill last week. We will send you an update soon, but if you haven't signed the petition yet, please do.

Note: if you do not wish to receive further mailings, please go to makepovertyhistory.ca/e/php/unsubscribe/?signid=426749&signverify=940de73a894806710acbff3fc1171851 to unsubscribe.