MAI & the NDP: are they both bad acronyms?
All of these things sound like the provincial NDP government is truly attempting to protect our social and cultural fabric. But there are several difficulties with this approach. First, the proposed restrictions on the MAI are completely antithetical to the intent of the agreement and therefore very...
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| Published in: | Briar patch 1998-04, Vol.27 (3), p.15-17 |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Magazinearticle |
| Language: | eng |
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | All of these things sound like the provincial NDP government is truly attempting to protect our social and cultural fabric. But there are several difficulties with this approach. First, the proposed restrictions on the MAI are completely antithetical to the intent of the agreement and therefore very unlikely to be accepted. Second, Canadians have already learned from the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA that high-blown phrases of good intention frequently do not end up in the final agreement. As the NAFTA experience has shown, even when exemptions are negotiated, they are in preambles or side agreements that are interpreted in a very narrow way and are virtually unenforceable. Third, the Saskatchewan government has quite clearly accepted the principle of reducing restrictions on investment because it has been participating in discussions with the federal government on the issue from the very beginning. Until recently, this was done in a secret and therefore undemocratic way. Fourth, participating in the negotiations lends credibility to the exercise. If an agreement results, even on disadvantageous terms, the Saskatchewan government will be placed in the position of defending it as the best that could be achieved under the circumstances. Participation in the process is a traitorous act against the Canadian and Saskatchewan populace. This is in striking contrast to the NDP governments of British Columbia and Yukon and even the Tory government of Prince Edward Island, all of which have told the federal government that they are opposed to the agreement. (It should be added that PEI's opposition is of a softer variety.) The federal NDP is also against the MAI. The City of Coquitlam, BC has declared itself an "MAI-free zone." Within Saskatchewan, both the provincial NDP convention last November and the Provincial Council at its meeting on February 15 passed resolutions opposing the MAI. Saskatoon Community Coalition Against the MAI, 614B-10th Street East, Saskatoon SK S7H 0G9, phone (306) 9334141, FAX (306) 933-4346. Regina Community Coalition Against the MAI, 2138 McIntyre Street, [Regina] SK S4P 2R7, phone (306) 569-2870. Moose Jaw Community Coalition Against the MAI, c/o Gerhard Scholten, 1032 Normandy Drive, Moose Jaw SIC S6H 6N3, phone (306) 693-0479. |
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| ISSN: | 0703-8968 |