As the United States formally pulls out of the TPP, OpenMedia calls on Canadian government to reject the deal, and open
future trade processes to citizen input
January 23, 2017 – This morning, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade deal that experts warn will
overwrite domestic law, criminalize online activity, and undermine privacy. Despite this, Canada’s recently-appointed
Trade Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, has said that Canada would consider pursuing some form of the TPP without the U.S., sparking concern from Internet advocates.
With trade negotiations with the U.S., the UK, and China on the federal government’s agenda, advocates say future trade processes must be opened up to citizen input. Responding
to today’s developments, OpenMedia communications specialist Meghan Sali said:
“The verdict is in: the TPP has been a spectacular failure. It’s no wonder that both major U.S. presidential candidates
were against it given how it was broadly rejected by voters. Instead of trying to push ahead with this unpopular deal,
Canada needs to learn from the mistakes made in negotiating it, and ensure that any future trade negotiations are open
to citizen input from the ground up.”
Sali continued: “The lesson of the TPP is that no future trade deal will win popular support if citizens are excluded
from the process. That’s why any future agreements must include real opportunities for citizen-stakeholder engagement
and meet a much higher standard for transparency. The public will never support deals made behind closed doors, that
come at the expense of our online freedoms, innovation, and our digital economy.”
Canadians are continuing to speak out against the TPP at LetsTalkTPP.ca
About OpenMedia
OpenMedia works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free. We create community-driven campaigns to
engage, educate, and empower people to safeguard the Internet.
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