Civil Society is demanding transparency regarding negotiations for a free trade agreement between Canada and Central America.
About 150 organizations from throughout the hemisphere are demanding the Canadian government (and its Central American counterparts) release the text for the proposed Central American Four Free Trade Agreement (CA4).
"This is one of several bilateral trade agreements that is being negotiated with no transparency, public, or parliamentary debate," says Nadja Drost Program Officer, Americas Policy Group of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation in Ottawa, one of the groups opposing the mysterious negotiation process of the CA4.
The Canadian Prime Minister has unilateral authority to broker trade agreements, while at no point must they be ratified by parliament. CA4 is believed to be modeled after the North American Free Trade Agreement, which although was a boon for multinational corporations was a bust for workers and small-scale farmers.
"Free trade agreements are political instruments that go beyond trade issues," said Raul Moreno, an economist from the University of El Salvador. "One of the main risks of [the CA4] is the privatization of public services."