Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have the honour of presenting is signed by several hundred residents of my constituency of Burnaby—Douglas and other residents in British Columbia on the subject of the proposed free trade area of the Americas.
The petitioners note that the Liberal government conducted secret negotiations on the proposed FTAA and refused to make public the texts that are the basis for the negotiations.
They note that the proposed FTAA would effectively extend NAFTA to the hemisphere and, further, that the proposed FTAA would block the ability of governments to create or maintain laws, standards and regulations to provide universal public education and health care and to protect the safety and well-being of their citizens and the environment.
Therefore, the petitioners request that all texts that are the basis of the negotiations immediately be made public, that any trade deals be rejected, including the proposed FTAA which would preserve NAFTA style provisions that put the rights of corporations and investors ahead of the rights of citizens and governments.
Finally, the petitioners call upon parliament to adopt a new approach to globalization that places social, economic and ecological justice above the profits of multinational corporations and establishes an alternative rules based system that promotes and protects the rights of workers and the environment, respects cultural diversity and ensures the ability of all governments to act in the public interest.