JEREMY NELSON
PARIS (CUP) — Plans to finalize a

massive international free-trade pact hit
another brick wall Tuesday when
mounting public opposition and lin-
gering disputes between negotiators

    
  
 
 
  
   
   
  
  
   
  
  
 
  
   
 
   
   
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
  

 

forced the signing of the controversial
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) to be put on hold for a mini-
mum of six months.
The 29-nation agreement, which
critics charge will open Canada’s
health, education and cultural sectors
to private, foreign ownership, has been
in closed-door negotiations in Paris for
more than three years. The deal was
originally slated to be signed in May of
1997, but a draft copy of the MAI
was leaked earlier that year and the
resulting public outcry forced the com-
pletion of the deal to be pushed back
until April of 1998.
While pleased with this second
delay, celebrations were brief for those
opposed to the deal. Moments after
announcement of the pause in negotia-
tions, critics of the agreement were
busy plotting new strategies to crush
the MAI during a conference call
which connected anti-MAI activists in
Paris with concerned citizens in 12
Canadian cities.
“The MAI is not dead. I can't say
that loud enough,” cautioned chair of
the 100,000-member Council of
Canadians, Maude Barlow, who had
travelled to Paris to help lead interna-
i ests against the agreement.
MAI got into trouble because
it’s fundamentally
is is the ugliest face of glob-

May 1998 Page 16

 

alization and all we've done is buy
some time.”

Barlow, along with other activists,
plans to use the extra time to go on the
offensive and develop an alternative
multilateral agreement on invest-
ment—one which they say will better

eports of the MAI’s death
re greatly exaggerated

protect the rights of citizens as
opposed to the rights of multinational
corporations. She says the current deal
would give corporations too many
powers, including the right to sue any
level of government for actions that
hurt their bottom line or potential
profits.

Meanwhile, Canada plans to push
ahead with the negotiations and has
committed to signing the MAI, even if
it takes them until the next millennium
to do so.

“The April 30 deadline [for signing
the MAI] hasn't been met, which wasn't
a surprise, but the negotiations will
continue,” said Sophie Legendre, a
spokesperson for Minister of Trade
Sergio Marchi. “There was general dif-
ficulty agreeing on certain parts of the
agreement from the member coun-
tries.”

According to Legendre, major stick-
ing points included binding protec-
tions for the environment and cul-
ture—something which the MAI
presently does not contain and which
the American negotiators are firmly
opposed to.

“We will stay involved in these
negotiations,” Legendre said, “but we
will only sign the right agreement at
the right time.”

“As for using the minimum six

month delay to hold full public hear-

ings on the MAI, Legendre said that
this was not likely. She says the govern-
ment doesn't need a direct mandate
from Canadians to enter the MAI
because the government has the man-
date to create jobs, which is exactly
what she says the MAI will do.

Legendre adds that the government
will also hold to its promise of com-
prehensive protection in the MAI for a
long list of items, including environ-
ment, labour standards, health and
education, culture, social services and
aboriginal rights.

But Canadian activist Tony Clarke,
who also travelled to Paris to oppose
the deal, says what Canada wants and
what the US will allow are two very
separate matters.

“One of the things we will have to
do over the next few months is hold
the feet of the Canadian government
to the fire on the carve-outs they have
promised.”

He also says that those opposing the
deal will have to up their level of vigi-
lance because with no formal meetings
planned until October, the already
quiet negotiations are going to be even
more difficult to track. But regardless
of what happens over the next few
months, both Clarke and Barlow vow
to keep up the fight against globaliza-
tion, adding that they can see the tides
turning in some important ways. No
longer, they say, will governments be
able to enter into discussions on inter-
national agreements without the public
closely scrutinizing the proceedings.

And Canadians are leading the way
in the battle against the globalizers,
Barlow says.

“People around the world are excit-
ed about what we're doing,” she said.
“Canadians seem to be setting the
pace. The citizens movements of our
country has done some serious damage
to this treaty, and Marchi even admit-
ted it.”