Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 12/02) - 'All power to the corporations' is the new rallying cry.

Unlike treaties common even a couple decades ago, current trade agreements impose restrictions on the right of democratically elected governments to regulate foreign-based corporations' "right" to invest wherever, whenever and however they want.

Today's trade deals empower private corporations to sue any government that interferes with its drive to make profits.

In the language of the trade deals, any government "measure" that a trade tribunal deems to be "tantamount to expropriation" entitles a corporation to compensation.

These trade tribunals are comprised of unelected trade "experts" who meet in secret to decide whether a corporation should be compensated. To date they have consistently sided with corporate complainers.

We're not necessarily talking about "real" lost profit either. Lost profits that can attract compensation include lost potential profit; in other words, "losses" incurred because a trade tribunal decides a corporation's opportunity to make profit was reduced. This isn't just theory.

Ethyl Corporation filed a complaint against the Government of Canada after it banned MMT from sale in our country. A fuel additive known to cause cancer, MMT poses the greatest threat to children. Rather than risk a ruling from a trade tribunal that could have run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, our government settled with the corporation, paid them $18 million, lifted the ban, and wrote a letter for the corporation's public use claiming the product wasn't harmful.

Not to be outdone, Methanex, a Canadian corporation, has filed a similar suit against the State of California for banning an environmentally harmful fuel additive it manufactures. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake here too. Thanks to NAFTA, it's likely that corporate "rights" to make profits are going to trump that society's right to protect itself too.

We have already seen a "chill" effect of this new corporate power. Governments are now reluctant to introduce or enhance regulatory protections in many fields (but especially the environment) out of fear of negative trade tribunal rulings.

Those promoting GATS hope to extend these corporate rights into the service sectors of the economy where corporations have not generally had good access. Health, education, social services, recreation, all areas where the public sector has traditionally provided services as a "public good" -- more or less available to all -- are on the table.

The Government of Canada constantly repeats that Medicare isn't at risk. But current free trade deals contain provisions that require complete access to a sector of the economy if any part of it becomes accessible. In other words, provinces like Alberta will impose a two-tier health system on the whole country if it privatises health services there.

According to the trade deals, no jurisdiction in Canada will be able to defend public health care if one jurisdiction gives it up.

The freedom of corporations to do whatever they want will grow as the power of our democratically elected governments to act in the public interest shrinks. If we don't stop them now, corporations are going to become the new world government.