Dear RN, This is a "Beware of poison presents" message I'm afraid... Beware of Canada wanting to sell CANDU nuclear reactors to Turkey (with its earthquakes! can't really call it selling actually, for we "loan" countries the money so they will prop up our rotten nuclear industry). Beware the US selling cigarettes with tactics that are not allowed in the US... (eg. rn posting of 27/12/98 on "Fumo luoco") Beware Canada using the WTO to try to foist asbestos on people elsewhere in the world. Lots more examples like this, I'm afraid. One of the best presents we can give our sisters and brothers in other countries is to work to prevent our governments from getting away with giving out these poison "presents". all the best, Jan ********************************************** Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 09:48:51 -0600 From: Community Outreach Center <•••@••.•••> Subject: Canada, Asbestos and the WTO From: Community Outreach Center <•••@••.•••> Subject: Asbestos and WTO Hi Friends, I am sending to you a presentation on asbestos that Barry Castleman made at the ngo Health and Environment Day in Seattle. [Note from Jan: I can send you the presentation on request.] It is a very disturbing account about how Canada is trying to use the WTO to allow them to export asbestos to developing countries. Barry is the leading researcher in originally exposing the hazards of asbestos. He would like to get this information out to as many people as possible in Canada. I did an interview with Barry while I was in Seattle which will shortly air on our radio program Making the Links CFCR 90.5 FM. Could you please circulate this to all of your lists and particularly those involved in health and safety issues. If we can expose this manoeuver, and put public pressure on, we could force the government to back off this attempt to target third world countries with a deadly product and role back national bans on asbestos use. Thank you, Don Kossick. ******************************************************* Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 18:51:34 -0400 From: •••@••.••• (Joan Russow) Subject: Canada and the WTO Piece printed in the Times Colonist, Victoria, Canada Tuesday, December 14, 1999 IT'S TIME CANADA WEEDED OUT 'FRANKENSPUDS By Joan Russow At the WTO in Seattle, Canada was revealed to be one of the WTO Villains. and NOW we have the Uvic Frankenspuds Canada has already received global condemnation as one of the world's major suppliers of Frakenfoods;unfortunately there has not been sufficient opposition inside Canada. Rather than continuing to fund University research in the development of more genetically engineered foods and crops, the federal governemnt must institute a fair and just transition and conversion program to organically grown food for the farmers and communities already affected by the blight of Genetically engineered foods and crops. Opposition for trade agreements in Canada has mounted in part because of the Ethyl case where Canada was obliged to compensate the Ethyl Corporation after Canada had refused to accept, for environmental reasons, the additive MMT. . Rather than use other multinational international environmental agreements to counter Ethyl's claim, Canada caved into to the decision by the NAFTA panel. Outrage arose in Canada that foreign corporations should have this right in Canada. The opposition has been fueled by nationalism demanding Canada's sovereign rights to set standards and regulations be respected; in some cases even when Canada's standards are below international standards. Unfortunately, this case has obscured the fact that Canada acts to undermine higher standards and regulations related to hormone treated beef, and genetically engineered foods and crops by Europe, and to set aside the banning of asbestos in France. One is left with the question of whether Canada agreed to pay Ethyl in order to be able to justify its using the WTO to further its industries of hormone treated beef, GE foods and crops and asbestos all of which have been demonstrated to be harmful to human health and the environment. On Sunday, November 28 , 130 opponents of genetically engineered foods and crops from 20 countries met and called for a ban on genetically engineered processes, foods and crops and animals. This resolution, including a call for the end of the patenting of life forms, for the criminalization of biopiracy, along with other demands was subsequently presented to an informational session plenary meeting of about 600 participants and was read by Maxime Waters a US congresswoman who has undertaken to put the resolution on the floor of congress. At the same informational session plenary meeting, there was a presentation of the WTO Asbestos Case and its Health and Trade implications. The presenter referred to the challenge by Canada to France's complete ban on all uses of all types of asbestos. The case was greeted with calls of "shame Canada". The presenter noted that the real targets of the case are the developing countries and that Canada has in reality no expectation of resuming significant exports of asbestos to France or to most of the other developed countries but is worried about the impact of the ban on its sales of asbestos to the developing world. For too long the Canadian government has proclaimed that it has obligations and commitments under vested economic agreements and institutions such as the WTO. Rarely does the Canadian government acknowledge that it has obligations and commitments under international public trust law. Two significant principles from public trust international agreements were agreed to under the Rio Declaration from UNCED: the precautionary principle - where there is a threat to the environment the lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used to justify postponing measures to prevent the threat. The other principle is the "non-transference of harmful substances" where states made a commitment to prevent the transfer to other states of substances or activities that are harmful to human health or the environment.. In the cases of hormone treated beef, of GE foods, crops and animals, and of asbestos, there is sufficient existing scientific evidence to invoke the precautionary principle thus justifying the call for banning. Genetically engineered foods and crops and asbestos have been proved to be harmful to human health and environment and their continued production and transfer to other states contravenes principles of international public trust law. We are now living in the wake of negligence from years of institutional collusion among governments, financial institutions, corporations, academic establishments and the military--- a disregard for the public trust : the violation of human rights, including civil and political rights and labour rights, the denial of social justice, the degradation of the environment, and the escalation of war and conflict. What is needed is not the tinkering with but the dismantling of the WTO and the immediate implementation of years of international agreements related to protecting the environment, guaranteeing human rights, including labour rights, ensuring social justice and preventing war and conflict. These agreements, in contrast to the vested interest economic agreements and institutions such as WTO, NAFTA, APEC, GATT further the public trust. 1999 is the culmination of the decade devoted to the furtherance of international law. The WTO should be dismantled and member states of the United Nations called upon to discharge obligations incurred under conventions, treaties and covenants, to act on commitments made through Conference action plans, and to fulfill expectations created through General Assembly Resolutions; so that there will be no victims or villains. Joan Russow (Ph.D) Federal leader of the Green Party of Canada 1 250 598-0071
