Canada gives away the store in return for scraps from U.S.

[CHIMO]

Government ministers have avoided saying just how much the recent deal on Buy American preferences, whose implementation was announced at a quiet news conference in Vancouver this week, is worth to Canadian suppliers. As the details of the agreement emerge, the reasons for this evasiveness are now clear.

The agreement gives Canada fleeting access to a sliver of the U.S. stimulus package. Canadian businesses will get to compete for no more than $4 billion to $5 billion (U.S.) worth of projects, amounting to less than 2 per cent of the $275 billion of procurement funded under the U.S. Recovery Act. The rest falls outside the scope of this deal.

Washington has only agreed to exempt Canada from Buy American preferences for the remaining projects under seven federally funded programs. Over three-quarters of the stimulus funds have already been spent and the remainder was supposed to be allocated by Feb. 17, though there may be subcontracts beyond that date.

Given the late hour, and the fact that these projects have already been designed to comply with the Buy American provisions, Canadian suppliers can expect to see very little practical benefit.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/767780--canada-gives-away-the-store-in-return-for-scraps-from-u-s

What a sell out!

McGuinty and Charest must be lining up plum jobs for the future.

All we can hope for is a rise in resource prices now.

Good bye to knowledge and science based resources. Hello to corporate resource and banking control.

[HeresyLives]

1. Actually it means we now all act as one,

and will have access to the EU because of it.

[CHIMO]

2. Your Presumptions

Are enormous.

Just who are "WE"?

If you read the article it is clear that we have sold out everything for next to nothing for a year and a half. There has not been any discussion in either Ontario or Quebec about this.

If we are dealing with the EU then our negotiations should have been done with the EU. It seems to me that we have given the US everything for nothing and handed the EU a starting position for negotiations.

If you have more information, then please post it. I have not seen anything about the two deals comparable to the Free Trade Agreement that we have had.

[HeresyLives]

3. 'We' is Canada.

I'm sorry but this has been in the news for some time. The point is not the 'deal', such as it is with the US, but the bringing together of provinces and municipalities across Canada which work in our favour with the EU. We can't get a deal with them without that, and we are in negotiations with the EU now.

[CHIMO]

4. Well

You just opened up your starting point with the EU.

Since we have established our WTO agreement, with exemptions, we can not make any further adjustments. However the EU has a whole lot in their back pocket. Just wait and watch. It is only your imagination that is lacking. And our usual Canadian position is to accept that you have a point, instead of staking ot a position and insisting upon it.

The article is about the deal with the US. We just made our unemployment situation worse down the road leaving us open to further exploitation. I find it surprising since none of the opposition parties have taken a stand on this that you seem to think that you may decide the issue.

You don't have to apologies, it has not been an issue in the news! It has not been discussed in parliament nor in the provincial legislatures.

The only point that was in the news was that the Canadian mayors put a proposition to the Government. The mayors did not have a vote on this!

As far as negotiating with parties. You should always negotiate from power.

[HeresyLives]

5. I have no idea what you're talking about.

This is a free trade deal between Canada and the EU that is being negotiated.

It has nothing to do with the WTO, or minor exemptions with the US bill.