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Canadian Government Lobbies Europe To Pass CETA (freezenet.ca)

Posted by timothy on from the but-that's-canadian-rules dept.

Dangerous_Minds writes: The Canadian government isn't just siding with the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Justin Trudeau is also actively lobbying Europe to try and pass the Comprehensive economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Freezenet points out that the agreement contains many provisions including a three strikes law and website blocking.

39 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Europe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Please pass the reichsermachtigungsgesetz. Kind regards, canadia, already ruled by corporations. Companies protect europe from muslim terrorists setting european parlament on fire. All hail godwin.

  2. The sticking point by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

    Apparently the sticky point that is holding up the deal is the tariff on maple syrup.

    1. Re:The sticking point by Minupla · · Score: 1

      Probably worried about our stategic reserve. Seriously though, laugh if you want, but maple syrup is worth ~50x as much as oil per barrel. It's big business in Quebec and Vermont. Min

      --
      On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
    2. Re:The sticking point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Indeed. Taking the sun's energy with black solar panel magic is sorcery. We must only use fire, given by GOD.

    3. Re:The sticking point by David_Hart · · Score: 1

      Probably worried about our stategic reserve.

      Seriously though, laugh if you want, but maple syrup is worth ~50x as much as oil per barrel. It's big business in Quebec and Vermont.

      Min

      In 2010 Quebec produced about 8 million gallons and Vermont did about 1 million gallons. New Brunswick did about 200,000 gallons but, in my opinion, it's the best maple syrup you can buy.

      Vermont maple syrup just doesn't cut it, it just doesn't have the robust flavor and tastes lighter. Maine maple syrup is similar to New Brunswick maple syrup (it should be, they border each other) and is what I buy when I run out.

    4. Re: The sticking point by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 1

      This is an interesting change that adds more insight to the nature of this spammer. For a while it was "Republicans hate children." Now it's "Democrats are servants of the devil."

      I always read these in the voices of the pink a blue unicorns from Charlie the Unicorn.

      Nothing really meaningful to add here.

    5. Re: The sticking point by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Are you, by any chance, the same David Hart who attended the Culinary Institute back in the 90's...?

    6. Re:The sticking point by Anonymous+Cow+Ward · · Score: 1

      No, North America is a continent, and South America is a different continent. "America" is an accepted name for the U.S., and "the Americas" refers to both American continents.

      --
      Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.
  3. Re:Worst prime ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    `Canuckistan' is the settled form for disparaging Canadian's tyranny.

  4. The new boss by ADRA · · Score: 2

    Just like the old boss. People voted for a party who's interests have been well known to side with big business, so there's zero surprise here. For the uninformed, the 'party' rules the individual representatives much tighter than say the US where its common to vote against/abstain from voting on ballot measures against one's personal (or representative) interests.

    --
    Bye!
    1. Re:The new boss by wardrich86 · · Score: 1

      To be completely fair, the Cons were selling us out just as fast. The thing that really pisses me off is that people still voted for a party that was pro-TPP and pro-C51. This shit had seriously better not pass, but we all know it will... once this shit hits this level, it's pretty much already signed.

  5. Re: Wow this site has gotten... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    She's too rich and too powerful, of course. Prison is for the little people.

  6. Justin Trudeau by roman_mir · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ha ha ha ha ha, Justin Trudeau, the so called 'liberal'. He'll legalise your pot and he will oppress you in every other way imaginable.

    --
    You can't handle the truth.
    1. Re: Justin Trudeau by Prune · · Score: 1

      But, but... muh "sunny ways"! Trudeau kept saying that! Oh, wait, he stole that phrase from Wilfrid Laurier, one of Canada's greatest statesmen (Trudeau himself, on the other hand, we can just hope isn't one of the worst)

      --
      "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
    2. Re: Justin Trudeau by Jester998 · · Score: 2

      Actually he's already backpedalling on the legalising pot thing.

      I'm not worried though, because the budget will balance itself, and there's a level of admiration for China because of their basic dictatorship.

      I don't want to live in this country any more, but the US isn't much better with 'bama. :(

    3. Re: Justin Trudeau by Ravaldy · · Score: 2

      TPP was already proceeding with conservatives so nothing changes, he just finished the job. The benefits are highly in Canada's advantage because Canada is already importing a hi percentage of good from other countries. What happens now is that the goods other countries need become more affordable due to the removal of high importation fees.

      Only time will tell if it's as beneficial as it looks on paper.

      FYI, I happen to know a food manufacturer that had 2 big deals pending on this trade deal going forward.

    4. Re: Justin Trudeau by Ravaldy · · Score: 1

      He's actually already taken a hard stand on many issues /. users are constantly nagging politicians avoid.

      Don't forget that liberals in Canada are center-left, not left.

    5. Re: Justin Trudeau by Jester998 · · Score: 1

      Pot has nothing to do with it. Never used the stuff, unlikely to ever do so.

      The reason I'm considering leaving is "Justin". His father completely screwed this country and Trudeau v2.0 is well on track to do the same.

    6. Re: Justin Trudeau by Altrag · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Heh if these were just trade deals, that wouldn't be a problem.

      Unfortunately what we're "trading" is our freedom, especially in the realm of copyright. CETA (and TPP and basically every other "trade" agreement you've heard of in the past decade and who knows how many you haven't heard of) give us just enough carrot that we'll brave the stick, while everyone politely overlooks the shotgun in the corner.

    7. Re: Justin Trudeau by Altrag · · Score: 1

      Also don't forget that these are massive deals that have been many years in the making (probably years before anyone even heard of them given how secretive they are) and that there's a lot of people in government that don't get changed out at election time. There's a lot of pressure both from internal and international sources against pulling out at the last minute.

      I mean I obviously have no idea what Trudeau's personal opinion is on these trade deals, but trying to blame a decade-in-the-making gong show on one single guy who only came into the picture a couple months ago is stupid, no matter what position that guy holds.

      Even Harper with his semi-dictatorial control over his government would have been hard pressed to do something like that just on his own whim (not that he would have wanted to of course, just saying.)

    8. Re: Justin Trudeau by Curtman · · Score: 1

      Backpedalling how? They've been very consistent actually.

    9. Re: Justin Trudeau by Ravaldy · · Score: 1

      I doubt Trudeau was against this otherwise they would have used it at ammunition during the election campaign. The TTP was in the news before the federal election campaign began in 2015.

      Trudeau wasn't my choice at election time but I must say I'm happy with his ability to leverage his team's knowledge instead of bullying it into thinking like him.

    10. Re: Justin Trudeau by Ravaldy · · Score: 1

      I see it as a step towards better globalization. Someone has to take a step towards this and Canada is willing to sacrifice itself for it. The global economy is real and trying to keep it out will keep you out of it. China isn't the underpriced labor market it was 15 years ago. I just came back from a conference in Florida and I got to speak to a few companies manufacturing products in China. The gap isn't 10 fold anymore. China is actually starting to buy from other countries and that is what Canada wants to be part of.

    11. Re: Justin Trudeau by AchilleTalon · · Score: 1

      The issue wasn't pot, the point was the backpedalling. He did the same with refugees. He promised during his campaign and shortly after being elected to accept 25 000 Syrians refugees by the end of 2015 before checking with civil servants if this was just humanly possible to process all these applications in two months with the current staff. The guy is a peewee.

      --
      Achille Talon
      Hop!
    12. Re: Justin Trudeau by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Not happy with the job any particular Prime Minister is doing, keep hammering away at their political party and convince them they will lose the next election because of the Prime Minister they choose and out with the old and in with the new. Keep churning them over until you get one that does a proper job. With Parliaments there is not need to wait for the next election, hell, put enough pressure on and you can get them to resign and force a by-election https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... for the seat they held.

      People need to stop thinking of political activism as being a chore, of being a hardship, of not being worth the effort. Think of it more of being fun, you know, don't put too much effort into to it, just stick it back to the bastards when they stick it to you. Have fun annoying the crap out of poorly performing politicians. No criminal harassment of course, just make their political life as legally difficult as you can, without wasting too much of your own time of course and make sure you keep it fun (form your own party, the party party). To be more far more effective, share this hobby with other like minded individuals. Those corrupt politicians are under way more pressure they you, plotting and scheming ways to corruptly enrich themselves and you can really freak them out by threatening their illegal means of enrichment, under constant threat of constant and loss of political power and the access to the wealth that corruption provides. Those corrupt fools thrive on their egos and that makes them hugely vulnerable to those egos, they thrive on secrets and the threat of exposure makes them hugely vulnerable to that threat and they can be lead into making fall steps.

      People need to stop thinking of political activism as a chore and more of a fun citizen hobby to stick it back to those who stick it to us ;D.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    13. Re: Justin Trudeau by Livius · · Score: 1

      "Liberal" is their brand-name, not their ideology. They just don't bother correcting people who mix the two up, because only misinformed voters are the ones who vote for them.

      Sadly the same strategy as every other political party in Canada.

    14. Re: Justin Trudeau by Altrag · · Score: 1

      They did to a degree, but when it came to freedom-destroying election issues, the parties pretty much focused on our very own C51.

      The TPP was mentioned here and there, though more with respect to the secret courts (aka sell your sovereignty to the highest non-domestic bidder) than copyright.

      Supposedly Trudeau's cabinet was going to "review" the TPP, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. I can't imagine they did anything thorough in the amount of time they've been in power -- the treaty text is just too damned long and convoluted. Regardless, they're still planning on signing it so I guess any review they did manage to get done ended up as "status quo."

      No mention of CETA that I saw, though that's not just during the election -- CETA gets significantly less coverage across the board than the TPP. I have neither the time nor legal expertise to work it out for myself but from what I've read, the two treaties are quite similar other than the participants, suggesting that CETA will probably screw us at least within an order of magnitude of the TPP... but it's missing the "ermg we'll be taken over by America!" factor that makes the TPP so much more newsworthy up here.

  7. Re: Wow this site has gotten... by Nikkos · · Score: 1

    Hey, you who writes 'conservative' in partial caps. Go back to whatever hole you normally troll, we expect better here.

  8. Re:Wow this site has gotten... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Please vote trump. You don't want clinton in the white house, who's married to a rapist?

    Canada is not part of the United States of America, yet. Keep your corrupt politicians at home and away from our corrupt politicians. We have enough problems without importing "hope and change."

  9. Re:Afraid you don't grok Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Did they repeal C-51 (the terrahrism bill), C-24 (the lose your citizenship bill), or any other multitude of oppressive bills enacted by the Harper parliament?
    I bet they wont. They are more likely to reinstate the "hate speech" restrictions that were repealed by the conservatives. Does that sound "liberal", or "listening to reason"?

  10. Re:Afraid you don't grok Canada by Prune · · Score: 2

    Tory/Communist...ultra far right

    So they went "ultra far right" and therefore they're "communist".
    Mod parent down for cretinous imbecility.

    --
    "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
  11. Re:Wow this site has gotten... by blackomegax · · Score: 1

    All those lazy people working 80+ hours a week for peanuts. Sure.

  12. Cons == Libs by phorm · · Score: 1

    This was actually one of the key reasons I didn't vote for him (well, his party). The Conservatives were worse in a lot of ways (they support CETA as well, but all sorts of other nasty stuff) and had a history of building oppression (G2 summit police overreach, muzzling scientists etc), but looking at how the parties voted the Libs and the Cons were both very much in the pro-surveillance anti-privacy camp. In this case it's the lesser of two evils between the two, but the third party (NDP) voted pretty solidly against this shit so it's unfortunate that they've been shoved far into the back seat now.

  13. Re:Wow this site has gotten... by davester666 · · Score: 1

    You don't think Trudeau has received a call from Obama "Would you mind mentioning CETA to those EU guys?"

    Our PM's are like little lapdogs for the US President.

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  14. Re:Wow this site has gotten... by Altrag · · Score: 1

    Well since the US isn't part of CETA, I doubt Obama would have wasted the phone call (official phone calls between international leaders tends to be considered a big deal.)

    Then again, CETA (for some reason) includes a lot of DMCA-like copyright laws that the US has been trying to push on us for ages. But its still unlikely Obama would have been the one to make such a call. US government might be in the hands of big business but that would be a little too obvious when the US doesn't officially get anything out of it.

  15. Re:Afraid you don't grok Canada by Curtman · · Score: 2

    They specifically said they would not repeal C-51 actually. You're thinking of the NDP maybe? "Repeal C-51" doesn't even make any sense. Does it mean scrapping the legislation that it created and leave us with no anti terror legislation? Or does it mean bringing back the 3 pieces of legislation that it replaced? The repealers would never answer that question so nobody trusted them.

  16. Re:Afraid you don't grok Canada by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Yes and we aren't a police state yet! Most of our cops won't shoot you in the back even!! If they do they will apologize for being forced to shoot you of course.

    Well, except in the big cities ...

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    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  17. Nasty treaties by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

    These big treaties coming out lately like TPP TTIP ACTA CETA have nothing to do with fair trade or tarriffs and everything to do with corporations bypassing national legal systems to put in place permanent laws that benefit them but certainly not the consumer or the environment or public services etc.

    Well over 3 million signatures against TTIP and CETA so far:
    https://stop-ttip.org/

    --
    Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
  18. Re:Afraid you don't grok Canada by dryeo · · Score: 1

    Probably thinking authoritarian, which the extremes on both sides seem to go to. Though looking at communist China, the argument can be made that the political wings wrap around, eg go far enough left and end up at the extreme right.

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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism