Protesters denounce Canada-Honduras free trade deal

[Judi Lynn]

Protesters denounce Canada-Honduras free trade deal
By Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News August 12, 2011

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — Prime Minister Stephen Harper boasted Friday that Canada's new free trade deal with Honduras will help that crime-ridden country emerge from poverty and political chaos, adding that his opponents are just "selfish" trade protectionists.

But within minutes of Harper making that claim at a signing ceremony with his Honduran counterpart, protesters who were kept outside the gates of the event were offering a different story.

They complained the trade deal will further diminish the rights of local workers and add to the profits of Canadian businesses that already operate textile factories and mining operations in this country with "impunity."

Harper wrapped up his tour of Latin America by announcing the trade deal with Honduras, an impoverished nation where violence is common and the leftist president was deposed by a coup just two years ago.

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http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Protesters+denounce+Canada+Honduras+free+trade+deal/5245301/story.html