Dissent renewed over trade deal

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

Canada has signed their name to a trade deal that many vocal critics are claiming could have drastic impacts on the country’s auto and manufacturing sector, and for local auto workers, the agreement is nothing but bad timing.

Canada, along with 11 other nations, recently signed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement during a ceremony in New Zealand. The act – merely a formality, as the agreement still needs to be ratified through each country’s respective governments – has renewed calls from critics who claim the deal will destroy jobs.

“Everything we’ve looked at says it’s not going to (benefit us),” says Ron Svajlenko, president of Unifor Local 222, the union representing employees at General Motor’s Oshawa Assembly and thousands more in the auto sector across Durham. “It is something that needs to be recognized.”

The TPP has received constant opposition in recent years as the negotiations on the deal were done in near-complete secrecy. The largest concern for the auto sector is the proposed changes to local content rules, which could allow for cars made in Canada to be constructed using parts imported from other parts of the world. Critics of the trade deal say this practice would harm local auto parts suppliers who may be unable to compete with the cheap prices of parts from places such as China or Japan, both of which are part of the TPP.

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French has been a vocal opponent of the deal at Queen’s Park and has consistently pushed the Liberal government to make commitments to help the auto sector if the deal is ratified.

“We’ve been consistent on asking about what impact the TPP will have on communities like Oshawa and what the government is willing to commit to in terms of support or attention and they’ve essentially, to this point, mocked us or laughed it off,” French tells The Oshawa Express.

The trade agreement – the largest Canada has ever negotiated, covering roughly 40 per cent of the world’s economy – will need to pass with a majority vote in parliament to take effect. It also must be ratified by half the countries involved, representing 85 per cent of the collective economies of the 12 countries in order to move forward. This means both the United States and Japan will need to ratify the agreement due to their size.

French believes now is the time to be analyzing any potential impacts, especially with the provincial budget being tabled on Feb. 25.

“It’s important, I think, to recognize we can’t just dismiss any part of it. The smallest of deals this size are going to have huge implications for communities, positive or negative.”

However, any of these impacts could be years away as the agreement has a two-year ratification deadline.

Despite that, Svajlenko says he doesn’t see the issue falling off the radar with the current state of Canada’s economy.

“I don’t think this will fall off. I think there will be more attention put to it shortly, in the sense that we’re seeing an economic down turn,” he says.

Countries signed on to the TPP are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.