Elizabeth May's press conference after the China FIPPA was quietly passed on a Friday. Please listen to the whole thing - Elizabeth May is amazing. She says this treaty trumps court decisions.
Why would Mr. Harper pass this thing? Perhaps he's attempting to do an end run around the rights of First Nations. The Tyee suggested that was the case in an article yesterday.
Perhaps most importantly, the deal fails to protect aboriginal rights under the Constitution. The implications of this omission are profound. While our federal government has a duty to consult First Nations, Chinese state-owned companies can sue Canada through a secret international arbitration panel for any such accommodation that impacts their economic interests. http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/09/25/Harper-Skins-Constitution/And even if we abrogate this tomorrow, we're in thrall to it for the next sixteen years.
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