NAFTA hasn’t delivered: legislators
CanWest | Winnipeg | Tuesday, June 06, 2006
NAFTA hasn’t delivered: legislators
Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest News Service
The North American Free Trade Agreement is "a continental tragedy" according to parliamentarians from Canada, Mexico and the United States who are fighting to replace it with a "people-centred approach."
At a news conference Tuesday Canadian members of parliament from the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois who met with American and Mexican counterparts and representatives from civil society groups in Ottawa over the weekend, presented their criticisms of the trade deal.
Marcy Kaptur, a Democratic Congresswoman from Ohio, said NAFTA has not delivered on its promises of bringing more jobs, trade surpluses and an increased standard of living to any of the three countries. In her opinion it has done the exact opposite and has produced "cruel results" particularly for Mexicans.
"The American people do not support NAFTA, they do not support its results and yet the Congress of the United States officially turns a blind eye and a deaf ear to the public," Kaptur said. No public consultations have ever been held by the U.S. Congress to review the effects of NAFTA, she said.
Both Kaptur and a member of the Mexican parliament pointed to the illegal immigration problem between their two countries as proof that NAFTA has failed.
"If it were [a success] there would be no need to build the fence that the United States wants to build between the U.S. and Mexican border and there would be no need to militarize it either," said Victor Suarez.
The Canadian, American, and Mexican legislators vowed to introduce legislation in their respective parliaments to try and dismantle the agreement "brick by brick."
NDP trade critic Peter Julian said the environment and women’s rights are two examples of issues that will be raised within the legislation.
"We’ll be transforming or replacing NAFTA step by step and working together in the three legislatures to do so," said Julian. The group plans to meet again in August in Mexico.
