Green Party leader Elizabeth May announcing a new international trade platform for the party during a campaign stop in Nanaimo-Ladysmith. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

TACKLING TRADE

Greens focus on international trade deals during Nanaimo-Ladysmith stop

Oct 18, 2019 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May announced her government would clamp down on international trade deals that leave environmental and human rights concerns behind.

May made the announcement during a speech at the offices of Nanaimo-Ladysmith candidate Paul Manly in Nanaimo on Friday, Oct. 18. May has been spending the final week of the campaign on Vancouver Island in a number of ridings ahead of the Oct. 21 vote.

“We are proposing an innovative approach to actually ensure that climate agreements can be enforced and that we can protect our climate without running up against trade deals that say trade is more important than survival,” May said.

A federal Green party government would refocus national trade policy to align with existing and targeted international climate goals.

May and Nanaimo-Ladysmith candidate Paul Manly both said investor state agreements and the security of multi-national corporations often take precedence over climate concerns.

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Manly stated countries such as India, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina and Australia have already taken steps towards the type of reform the Greens are proposing.

“We have over 3000 trade agreements and investment treaties around the planet that give corporations extraordinary rights to push projects on Canada that we don’t want,” Manly said. “It undermines our sovereignty, it undermines our democratic authority and those agreements need to be re-worked.”

May added there are very few enforcement mechanisms related to climate in trade deals, as trade ministers often carry more influence than environment ministers in most countries.

“It’s time to look at the web of trade deals, investor state agreements that have in my view operated illegally against the way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was originally negotiated,” May said. “Those rights of trans national corporations have superceded our ability to negotiate treaties that actually work to protect our climate.”

As part of trade reform, May would also lead a global effort to refocus the World Trade Organization.

“We need to rename and reprioritize the work of the World Trade Organization to be the World Trade and Climate Organization, so that trade agreements that have to do with protecting the climate, are allowed to use trade sanctions as a way of ensuring enforcement.”

She also admitted regardless of the election result, the Greens will need cooperation from Parliament to enact these changes.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley