Our trade situation was a serious problem long before the election of Donald Trump and new realities will demand a serious re-thinking of the liberal trade and industrial policies of the “free trade” era and not just more of the same.
At this moment of deep political convulsion throughout the West, the fight against privatization is part of a broader struggle against the economic logic that has led to corrosive inequality and underpinned the bankrupt neoliberal economic paradigm.
Acquisitions by foreign corporations of Canadian companies may be in the interests of shareholders and corporate executives, but harmful from the perspective of workers and local communities.
This is the kind of bold leadership needed in the rest of Canada to make headway on combatting inequality, poverty and to create the conditions for a growing economy that benefits everyone.
Are residential properties becoming less affordable over time, and as a result less accessible or plausible for those with lower- or median-incomes?
In the current rush to experiment with guaranteed livable incomes, let’s not forget the hard won battles to decommodify certain things we value like health care.
Will the Trudeau Government have the courage to listen to concerned Canadians and acknowledge that “free” trade and investment deals have run their course?
Turner is clear that any move in this direction should be undertaken by central banks, not by governments seizing control of the printing press, and is certainly aware of the risk of inflation if directly financed deficits get out of hand.
Viewing the TPP as a trade agreement masks its significance as a tool that will, like NAFTA, be used to challenge government regulation in the public interest. Investors from across the TPP will be able to appeal regulatory decisions before secret tribunals, giving them rights that do not exist for domestic companies under Canadian law.
