|
|
|
|||||||||||
 
Special edition of the Kairos Times, April 2005:
|
 |
|
 | In this edition | |
 |  |
- 1) Tell the Canadian Government you are tired of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)!
- 2) Help Save Cerro San Pedro, Mexico!
- 3) Key Links
What is the Global Week of Action?
The Global Week of Action on Trade (April 10-17th, 2005) is an invitation
to people of faith and conscience the world over to highlight the
injustices of trade while lifting up viable and just alternatives.
During the Global Week of Action, KAIROS will go to Ottawa to speak with government representatives and share our concerns. Join us in our advocacy efforts!
HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
1. Tell the Canadian Government you are tired of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)!
Canadians have borne witness to the negative impacts of free trade for over fifteen years. NAFTA’s Chapter 11 enables corporations to sue governments. In the past, the Canadian government has rescinded legislation set out to protect human and environmental health because of Chapter 11 rulings. Now, NAFTA has produced a chill effect, as legislators are wary of implementing any new regulatory legislation. To date, the Canadian government has had 11 challenges filed against it and has paid out 27 million dollars of public funds to corporations.
On February 16, 2005 KAIROS, as part of a Common Frontiers coalition,
presented a brief on NAFTA’s Chapter 11 to the Subcommittee
on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment (SINT). We
were successful in getting the subcommittee to pass the following
motion, "The Subcommittee recommends to the Standing Committee
on Foreign Affairs and International Trade that it undertake a complete
review of NAFTA Chapters 11 and 19," directed at the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (SCFAIT). To
read the KAIROS submission go to: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/lettersTopic.asp#3
Now is the time to write to the SCFAIT, encouraging them carry out
a thorough and comprehensive review of Chapter 11. Write to:
Chair, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade (SCFAIT):
Bernard Patry.B@parl.gc.ca
Copy the Committee Members:
Francine Lalonde, Lalonde.F@parl.gc.ca
Kevin Sorenson, Sorenson.K@parl.gc.ca
Stockwell Day, Day.S@parl.gc.ca
Alexa McDonough, McDonough.A@parl.gc.ca
Ted Menzies, Menzies.T@parl.gc.ca
Beth Phinney, Phinney.B@parl.gc.ca
Maruizio Bevilacqua, Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca
Lawrence MacAulay, MacAulay.L@parl.gc.ca
Dan McTeague, McTeague.D@parl.gc.ca
Pierre A. Paquette, Paquette.P@parl.gc.ca
Belinda Stronach, Stronach.B@parl.gc.ca
For letter writing ideas, check out the Global Week of Action flyer
at:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/trade/GlobalWeekofAction_Flyer_Jan05.pdf
Top
of page2. Help Save Cerro San Pedro, Mexico!
From March 11-19th 2005, Canadian church representatives from across the country travelled to Mexico as part of a KAIROS-organized delegation. In Mexico, they witnessed first-hand the ongoing impacts and consequences of NAFTA.
At the request of community members, the delegation visited Cerro de San Pedro, a community threatened by Canadian mining company Metallica Resources Inc. We learned that the proposed open-pit mine will destroy villager’s homes, damage the ecosystem, and contaminate the water supply through the use of cyanide leaching. The aquifer at risk supplies 73 percent of the water for three million people that live in and around the nearby state capital of San Luis Potosi.
Currently mining permits have been stalled in the courts, but the village is far from being safe! Metallica Resources has threatened to use NAFTA’s Chapter 11 to sue the Mexican government if they are prohibited from going ahead. Mexicans too have experience with this type of threat. To date, the Mexican government has had 15 challenges filed against it and has paid out 18.2 million dollars of public funds to corporations.
Residents told us that despite being recognized as the site of a National Monument by the federal government, the previous governor refused to authorize Cerro de San Pedro as a UNESCO historical site.
Villagers are just one signature away from saving their homes! Write to the Mexican government today asking them to assure that State Governor, Marcelo De los Santos Fraga, signs the UNESCO declaration authorizing Cerro de San Pedro as a world heritage site. Call on the government to respect the wishes of the community as it demands the cessation of mining and the withdrawal of Minera San Xavier, Metallica’s subsidiary from the town.
Send letters to:
President Vincent Fox
President of Mexico
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos, Colonial San Miguel Chapultapec
Fax: 011-52 (552) 577-2376, Email: foxcontigo@presidencia.gob.mx
With copies to:
Gobernador del Estado de San Luis Potosi.
C.P. Marcelo De los Santos Fraga
Fax: 01 (444) 814 10 88 -pedir tono-, E-mail: aalvarez@sanluispotosi.gob.mx
http://www.sanluispotosi.gob.mx
Ambassador Gaetan Lavertu
Canadian Ambassador in Mexico
Schiller 529, Col. Polanco
11560, Mexico D.F, Mexico
Fax: 011-52-55-57-24-79-85, Email: Gaetan.lavertu@international.gc.ca
3. Key Links
For more information on the KAIROS Mexico Delegation see:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/trade/delegation.asp
To read the Delegation Diaries see: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/trade/delegation_diaries-050314.asp
See the Global Week of Action website to get a sense of the scope of events taking place world- wide April 10-17, 2005: www.april2005.org
The KAIROS flyer on the Global Week of Action (PDF format) gives
good summary information and some worship suggestions:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/trade/GlobalWeekofAction_Flyer_Jan05.pdf
KAIROS is a member of this the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA),
a global faith-based coalition. Check the EAA out for further worship
material:
http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-5270.pdf
For more information (or to sign up for our Trade E-Bulletin) contact the Economic Justice Program Coordinator, Rusa Jeremic: toll –free 1 877 403 8933 x225 or rjeremic
|
|