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e-555 (International trade)
E-petition
Initiated by Sophie Qin from Stouffville, Ontario
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
- Recent international trade deals, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) among other Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (FIPAs), have carried an increasingly alarming trend of granting foreign investors and corporations the right to file lawsuits against our country for policies that they regard as detrimental to their profits;
- What Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) systems will force Canada to agree to will gravely jeopardize our nation's ability to legally protect its citizens and environment to the extent that they threaten our nation's sovereignty and democracy. A nation that is not able to freely decide what occurs within its borders, without approval from a foreign entity, is not sovereign. Thus, by giving foreign corporate entities the right to lay charges against our government for any of its decisions, these ISDS systems essentially rob us of the right to call ourselves a sovereign nation;
- Corporations should never be granted privileges that are unavailable to the Canadian people. Instead of granting them rights to contest our government, we must demand that they carry the burden of proof and justification for their activities within our borders, to maintain independence and control over the decision-making processes of our country; and
- Our nation's unique needs should never be outweighed by the need for profit.
We, the undersigned, people of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to dismiss the ISDS systems included in these trade deals, particularly the TPP and CETA. Anything less is unacceptable and poses a threat to both the health and safety of Canadian citizens and our environment.
- Open for signature
- October 5, 2016, at 3:08 p.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- February 2, 2017, at 3:08 p.m. (EDT)
