Social Policy in Ontario

even the proponents of new deals like the TPP are forced to admit any con- ceivable economic boost is marginal (see article by Hadrian Mertins-Kirk- wood on page 29). Further liberaliza- tion would create little new wealth to distribute, even if elites were so in- clined.

Unfortunately, as Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joseph Stiglitz and other progressive critics warn, the not-so- hidden purpose of the TPP and simi- lar treaties is to coerce governments into making legislative and regulato- ry changes that favour corporate spe- cial interests — reforms that most pol- iticians are not willing or able to jus- tify in open debate before their own citizens.

The Obama administration’s dogged support for the TPP is a case in point. The president must rely almost en- tirely on Republican members of Con- gress to advance his failing hopes of approving the treaty on his watch. As Melinda St. Louis and Melanie Foley write in their TPP update on page 32, the Obama administration still views the lame-duck session of Congress, when enough retiring and defeated members might be coaxed into back- ing the unpopular deal, as its chance to ram through TPP ratification be- fore a new president takes office. It is pursuing this profoundly cynical, an- ti-democratic strategy even at the risk of undermining the Democratic cam- paign for the White House and control of Congress.

Fortunately, at this point, it looks like the administration does not have the Congressional backing it needs, and progressive U.S. groups are working hard to keep it that way. The most probable scenario appears to be that the new U.S. president, especially if it is Clinton, will reject the agreement in its current form and seek to reopen negotiations. This, and the recent nar- row electoral victory for the ruling co- alition in Australia (which threatens TPP ratification there), could well un- ravel the deal.

Canadians and their government need to prepare for either eventuality: U.S. ratification in the lame-duck session or, as appears more likely, a renewed push from the incoming U.S. admin- istration to re-negotiate the already imbalanced deal. Whoever becomes the next president, U.S. pressure for re-negotiation can hardly be expect- ed to improve the deal from a public interest perspective.

While most of the TPP drama is occur- ring south of the border, the Canadi- an people and their new government still have the power to decide wheth- er Canada should be part of the agree- ment. There are very good reasons, many of them outlined in this special issue, why Canada should walk away.

The commitments government trade negotiators make behind closed doors lock in a myopic and increasingly em- battled neoliberal orthodoxy — small government, big finance, weak regu- lation and a preference for privatized service delivery — that prevents future governments from changing course without great political and financial costs. Progressives might welcome such policy handcuffs as part of a glob- al environmental treaty for reversing climate change. In the case of the TPP we get the opposite: more restraints on environmental protection meas- ures in the interest of freeing capital and investment.

From a Canadian perspective the agreement is riddled with ideolo- gy from the previous Harper govern- ment, surely one of the most right- wing regimes in recent Canadian his- tory. There are numerous examples of how the TPP does not reflect the val- ues of those who voted for a new gov- ernment and progressive change:

– The inclusion of the increasing- ly discredited investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism when NAFTA’s similar system has already led to Canada being the most sued devel- oped country in the world;

– The extension of monopoly pat- ent protections when we already pay too much for prescription drugs, while brand-name drug companies invest so little in Canadian research and devel- opment;

– The pigeonholing of Canada as a seller of raw and semi-processed goods while acceding to U.S. and industry demands on copyright, trade secrets and digital rights that dig us further into this hole; and

– The locking-in of future privatiza- tion of public services, down to even the local level, through so-called standstill and ratchet clauses that pre- vent remunicipalization of privatized services such as sanitation or transit.

As currently written, the TPP can only worsen today’s inequality of wealth and power. Likewise, it will strip gov- ernments of the tools they need to ad- dress climate change — an existen- tial threat that will require more, and more assertive, government interven- tion and regulation. Extreme investor rights agreements such as the TPP are relics of an era when market funda- mentalism — the belief in the virtues of fully liberalized markets — was the prevailing political wisdom. Even insti- tutions like the International Monetary Fund, the notorious enforcer of neolib- eral “structural adjustment” the world over, is rethinking this position.

The significant public opposition to the TPP in the U.S. from across the po- litical spectrum is a sign the ideology driving the TPP and other expansive trade and investment agreements is close to exhausting its public legitima- cy. Protest against the TPP is as strong in Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Aus- tralia and Mexico. Canadians and their political leaders would be wise to pay attention. At the same time, it would be irresponsible for progressive voic- es to sit back and expect the TPP to meet its demise as a result of U.S. do- mestic politics.

This special issue of the Monitor sets out the case against Canadian ratifi- cation of the TPP. Criticism of the na- kedly self-interested corporate agen- da embodied in the TPP is neither an- ti-trade nor protectionist — it is sim- ply drawing an obvious conclusion. A project defined overwhelmingly by the commercial aims and interests of U.S. multinationals — from Big Pharma and Hollywood to the powerful fossil fuel, banking and biotech industries — can- not be assumed to advance the broad- er public interest within any of the TPP countries. M

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