Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak.
My name is Christopher Majka. I'm a writer and ecologist. I will be brief.
Fostering trade can certainly benefit both people and the economy. That said, the devil is always in the many details of such agreements, and that is certainly the case with the trans-Pacific partnership, where there are very many hidden devils.
While I applaud many issues that the TPP addresses, the actual provisions in the agreement allow for many concerns with respect to the ways in which these will be addressed. For instance, in regard to environmental protection—something which, as an ecologist, is of particular concern to me—many environmental organizations have pointed out ways in which the agreement could threaten our climate and environment. The agreement provides for new rights for corporations, in particular those related to the fossil fuel industry, that are potentially environmentally destabilizing and could have a massive impact on the way in which we address climate change, water issues, and land issues.
The TPP has also been criticized as being incompatible with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, a critical international framework for developing a sustainable future for our planet.
I'm similarly concerned with provisions of the TPP that tighten and extend patent laws that would allow pharmaceutical companies to boost prices, restrict access to medicines in the developing world, and delay or derail initiatives to make less expensive generic drugs available. Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam have both pointed out that patent extensions and data exclusivity provisions in the agreement could result in a spike in drug prices that could threaten millions of lives.
Finally, the investor state dispute settlement mechanisms that are part of the TPP are perhaps the most concerning aspect of this agreement. These provisions grant enormous powers to corporations and investors and greatly interfere with the ability of governments to undertake initiatives that would benefit their own countries and citizens. They can undermine the judicial systems of member states and weaken important powers of governments to act and legislate with respect to public health, national security, environment, food and drug safety, and in response to economic crises. I would posit that such restrictions to the sovereign powers of governments are incompatible with a 21st century environment, which values participatory democracy and the rights of citizens to determine their future.
For all these reasons, I would respectfully submit that the Canadian government should not ratify this agreement.
Thank you very much.