> MAI --THE MULTINATIONALS' CHARTER OF RIGHTS > > COLUMN NUMBER 1 approx June 1, 1997 > > By HUBERT BEYER > > VICTORIA, BC, Canada - A couple of weeks back, I wrote a piece on the > Multilateral Agreement on Investment, and how it could be that Canada, > along with 28 other nations, has been negotiating, in total secrecy, what > could well spell an end to Canadian sovereignty as we know it. > > Sterling Newspapers, which runs my column in a dozen or so of its papers, > posted the piece on the Internet, and an extraordinary thing happened: > within days, my electronic mailbox was jammed with response to my column, > not just from British Columbians, but from people around the world. > > Day after day, there I received between 15 and 20 messages from readers > in British Columbia, the rest of Canada and the U.S., and as far away as > Norway, Italy, Germany and Great Britain. > > The central theme of all these responses was great unease, not just about > the proposed agreement, but the fact that the negotiations have been > conducted in utter secrecy, without any public consultation. And > considering the scope of the proposed agreement, that's cause for worry. > > In a nutshell, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, or MAI for > short, is to facilitate the free flow of investment among member nations. > One of he more alarming aspects of the agreement is a clause that would > forbid any government to attach conditions to investments. > > In practical terms, that would mean no government, federal or provincial, > could tell potential investors that they have to create jobs. BC Premier > Glen Clark's Jobs and Timber Accord, which will compel the forest > industry to create jobs in return for receiving tree-cutting rights, > would not be permissible, once the agreement is in effect. > > I'm not the only one who is worried. From the Boston Cambridge Alliance > for Democracy came this message: "At a time when more responsibility is > being shifted to state and local government to deal with social needs, > new laws are being drafted at the international level which will restrict > the power of state and local government to affect economic development, > environmental or labor standards, and the retention of domestic > industries." > > George Monbiot, one of the UK's leading environmentalists, lambasted the > British media for having so vocally defended the cause of democracy > during the recent elections, while completely ignoring a serious threat > to national sovereignty. > > "The real future of Britain is being discussed not here, but elsewhere, > and in the utmost secrecy. The columnists who have so shrilly defended > the sovereignty of Parliament from the technocrats in Brussels > (headquarters of the European Union), have so far failed to devote a > single column inch to the shady deliberations of the EU's bigger > brother." > > The UK media aren't the only ones who have virtually ignored the MAI. > One of the few Canadian newspapers that did touch on the issue was the > Telegraph-Journal in New Brunswick. > > "Looking for an election issue to raise when federal candidates come > knocking during this election campaign? Try the MAI on for size. Never > heard of it? Join the club, the TJ said in its April 30 editorial. > > "The premise of the MAI is that global investors want legal protection r > their money when they choose to invest in a foreign country. Against what > must it be protected? Any obligations a host country may wish to impose > on that foreign investment. > > "The MAI would prohibit any level of government from imposing job > creation requirements, local hiring quotas or procurement rules, > requirements to reinvest profits into research and development, or > special taxation rules to capture a are of exported profits - in short, > anything that would restrict profit-making or taking on foreign companies > investing in, say, Canada." > > Well, the MAI didn't become an election issue. The Liberals avoided it > like the plague, the Tories and Reform presumably like the agreement, > and Alexa McDonough didn't have a clue when it was first raised. > > In my books, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment is a "Charter of > Rights" for multinational corporations, and if we're nor careful, it will > make minced meat out of our own Charter of Rights. > > Beyer can be reached at: Tel: (250) 920-9300; Fax: (250) 385-6783; > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
