Let’s be clear, Canada’s economy is stagnating. Perhaps even in a recession, GDP has contracted steadily throughout the beginning of the year.
So what’s the next step? Probably not the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP will have no effects on the contracting GDP and will close more doors than it opens. As a trade deal it’s very lacking in any foreseeable advantages for trade.
Canada already has deals in place with four of the twelve countries and tariffs with the rest; tariffs which are costing Canada a deficit of $5-8 billion per annum.
Besides the unimaginably poor reasoning it would require to see any trade benefits in such a deal, the deal also includes privacy and information provisions harsher than those of NAFTA. Provisions which would cripple the affordability of medicine, limit access to digital information and make the nation vulnerable to foreign lawsuits.
This deal means only bad news for us taxpayers; a baffling 75% of which have no idea what the deal is about.
Supposing that Canada has any national sovereignty left, taking control of its own trade interests and supporting vital industries at home would be a start. Don’t leave it to multinational corporations to bolster the economy.
Canada’s efforts ought to go towards more tangible directions. Directions such as disengaging from wasteful military spending in the Baltics and Syria, and reinvigorating a healthy trade partnership with Russia.
Realistically, although Canada has done away with the practice of military conscription, it carries on a trend of forcing unwilling businesses to comply in a trade war.
Blow back from Canada’s economic sanctions have lead the agricultural-food industry to brace for a chilling blow to a profitable $563 million in exports. Without a doubt the loss will continue to accelerate the trend of decline in Canada-to-Russia exports, which has fallen half a billion dollars since 2012.
While wading through the coming waters, Canada’s government ought to think clearly about whether it wants to open doors for trade or to close them. The TPP looks bad on paper and will look even worse in practice.