NDP slams Colombia deal's 'kill-unionist-pay-fine' clause
Jul 09, 2008 04:30 AM
Linda Diebel
National Affairs Writer
Federal New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton says it's "simply outrageous" for Ottawa to sign a trade deal with Colombia with a clause calling for the South American nation to pay a fine to a special fund whenever a union activist is murdered.
It's not even clear how the fund would work. Nor would the Harper government give any details.
"This shouldn't have even been allowed to cross the first bureaucrat's desk," said Layton, whose party has launched a petition against the trade agreement over the summer.
In Colombia, where the army has been linked to the death squads, 28 trade unionists have been murdered so far this year, according to human rights organizations.
Union groups in Canada and the U.S. oppose any trade deal with the government of Alvaro Uribe.
NDP trade critic Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster) – who christened the deal, "kill-a-unionist-pay-a-fine" – said it could turn out to be a "key political decision" of the fall Parliament.
The Harper government announced the trade deal last month, before the parliamentary committee studying trade with Colombia completed its work. A few days later, the committee tabled a report recommending no deal be signed without a human rights review.
More:
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/456896