Thank you. I am Matthew Young, a member of the Council of Canadians.
I saw and heard a lot while fighting in Afghanistan. There was a distinct difference between the reality I saw and what the public was hearing, much like with the trans-Pacific partnership. When I went back to university, I was working three days a week selling insurance and mutual funds. That was during the 2008 financial crisis. I recall the story of a certain investment bank selling garbage investments to the public pension funds and betting against them. As an auditor, I have seen fraud ignored and illegal activity undisclosed. I learned that money changes people's perspective. It's kind of how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act started with good intentions but was weakened by lobbies when it threatened the profit and security investors enjoy.
I recall, while running the back office of a $10 billion pension fund, the United States threatened punishing taxes on the assets of the Canadian public so that it could get the information it needed to tax American pensioners, while doing little about tax havens.
I'm not here as a soldier, an auditor, or a salesman. I am here as a concerned citizen. I am here to make you aware of the offence to Canadian sovereignty and our rights in the political economy. The TPP is a deal for investors. That's where the money goes. The ultimate issue at stake here is the balance between public protection and private profit. Imbalance in power and access to government has allowed the interests of investors to pervert the outcomes of Canada's laws and our agreements with foreign countries. Thus the outcomes of globalization have benefited few, harmed many, and done little or nothing to resolve trade conflicts.
If the TPP were expected to resolve trade conflicts, I suppose the Prime Minister would not have publicly asked the Minister of International Trade to focus on resolving the softwood lumber dispute earlier this year. It was negotiated behind closed doors. Most MPs were alienated from the process. Strong corporate lobbying engagement was allowed, and there was minimal access for civil society. One result is the investor-state dispute settlement, which allows foreign companies to sue the Canadian government, which is indirect taxation of the public.
Travelling in Alberta, I have met people affected by fracking, people poisoned and people struggling to keep their land and water in its natural condition. I myself was in a hunting party up near Zama City, where I harvested a wild buffalo in the same place where CN Rail spilled 10 million litres of poison. Regulations to protect the public in Alberta have not been updated to reflect advances in our understanding of the dangers posed by fracking. Quebec put up a temporary moratorium on fracking because it understands the risks and the new science. Quebec is putting public safety before private profit, and now Canadians are being sued through ISDS by Lone Pine Resources Incorporated. The public has a right to protect itself. The public is the only party with the right to choose the appropriate balance between jobs and safety. Political uncertainty has always been part of the model when investing globally. The ISDS is a trick to get the public to insure foreign corporations' investment—it's a fool's deal, in my opinion.
Globalization has positive potential. So far, the outcomes have been extremely lopsided. So to allow the public to re-assert a degree of power in society that is dignified, I have the following recommendations.
The federal government ought to abandon the investor-state dispute settlement in all trade agreements in force and in the future. Until that is achieved, I recommend the federal government commit to pay no damages arising from judgments related to regulatory issues.
The federal government ought not ratify the TPP. I say again, the federal government ought not ratify the TPP.
I recommend amendment to the Canada Business Corporations Act to require all corporations to have a separate audit board. Of course, then opt out clauses appropriate for small business. I think simple majority is too few. This would be a good start toward improving transparency in our system.
My last recommendation is that the Government of Canada reach out to allies, with an agenda of developing consensus for a new vision of globalization that attends to tax havens and corporate secrecy and provides strong protection to the public.
Thank you.