FTAA would deepen the negative effects of NAFTA we've seen in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. over the past years and expand NAFTA's damage to the other 31 countries involved in the agreement. The FTAA would essentially combine the elements of every global trade and investment agreement - existing and proposed - into one big agreement, with new authority over every aspect of life in Canada and the Americas. Not only do negotiators plan to adopt and expand existing NAFTA and WTO provisions on "agriculture," "investment," "market access," "intellectual property rights," "subsidies," "competition policy," "government procurement" and "dispute settlement," but they also seek to introduce new provisions related to "services" such as health care, education, energy, water, broadcasting, publishing, postal services and the environment. The repercussions and affects of FTAA would be massive. Under NAFTA, Canada has already surrendered control of its energy resources to the United States - a fact that has led directly to massive exports, lost conservation, higher oil and gas prices for Canadian consumers and increased pollution of the environment. Under the FTAA, all of those areas mentioned above are at equal risk to being surrendered to members of the FTAA. .
Another area of concern would be the FTAA would lead to privatization of services. Much like the recent crises in both Bolivia and Ecuador, the privatization of services, such as water and fuel, can hurt those most in need. The prices soar, and this leads to basic services being unaffordable to parts of the Canadian population. Essentially, the rich would become richer and the poor would become poorer. Large corporations would be benefiting from this agreement because they have many more countries to expand in for free; however the poor will become shafted and left behind as products become more expensive. .
Perhaps the most important reason Canada should not embrace the FTAA is because of the repercussions the agreement may have on our social security.
