THE RECORD
December 13, 2000

Fiat Lux

by Ed Deak

Well, our elections are over and done with, the country's been split in half between two Dubyas and the Yanks are still trying to find which one of theirs is going to be crowned King of the World.

Much has been speculated and said about the causes for our premature elections. The usual political analysts' and commentators' verdict is that Mr. Chrétien vangloriously wanted to rule Canada for another few years. What the commentators won't mention is that they've been told to shut up about the real causes if they value their jobs.

The elections were called over the two acronyms of FTAA and GATS and the two words "Canadian Dollar." Very few people know that there are secret talks going on at this time between 34 American countries, including Canada and excluding Cuba, to expand the NAFTA across the two Continents, creating the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Also, between the 135 countries of the WTO to bring in the General Agreement on Trade in Services in Geneva, Switzerland under the chairmanship of former Canadian Trade Minister Sergio Marchi.

Meanwhile, the billions of people around the world, who have been destituted and robbed by the existing free trade agreements, are beginning to make a lot of noise. It is only a question of time before the corporate dream of globalized colonialization turns into open revolution and bloodshed. The Chief Ministers of the Americas are to meet in Quebec City next April to formalize the FTAA talks . Already the plans are in progress to turn the city into an armed camp, with a jail complex being emptied to house the arrested demonstrators, whose number could be in the thousands. From what I can read every day from all over the world from my contacts, the demonstrations in Quebec will make Seattle look like a church social tea party

The tide has turned and although our media is very careful not to inform the public, since Seattle there have been many huge demonstrations against WTO, IMF and World Bank policies and officials. As I am writing this demonstrations involving many thousands of people are in process in Nice, France against the VIPs of the European Union by the impoverished, unemployed and hopeless.

Why would people demonstrate against the wealth creating globalization attempts of big business and governments working together? Well, if you are heating your house with natural gas, just look at your bill in the coming months. The obvious is to curse the godless socialists of the BC Government for raking in the millions on the public's back.

Then there are the facts.... In the mid '70s, shortly after the oil crisis organized by the OPEC Pierre Trudeau set up the National Energy Policy or NEP to prevent Canada running short and the citizens being hurt by profiteering. Also the Foreign Investment Review Agency to make it certain that Canada won't be harmed by the capital pouring in. The Tories both federally and in Alberta screamed to high heaven that Trudeau was an "anti- investment socialist," the NEP would stop exploration and foreign investment and so on. They swore that if and when they get into power they'll eliminate both.

Their chance came when the great Mulroney was elected in late '84 and both the NEP and FIRA were dismantled, then the US-Canada FTA was signed in late '88. The oil and gas industries were deregulated in '85 opening up the taps for limitless profits. In their infinite wisdom the Socreds, predecessors of the present BC Liberals, sold and privatized BC Gas in 1988. Obviously, to cut costs and create wealth.

The oil and gas industries, like most of Canada's economy are now controlled from US head offices, who may not even know where BC is located as long as the cash keeps on flowing into their accounts. In 1993 Mr. Chrétien promised to re-negotiate the already written up NAFTA, but signed it without question and any public inputs or information as he now intends to sign the FTAA and GATS.

There's also a great push to convert the currencies of all FTAA countries to the US Dollar. Ecuador and El Salvador have already eliminated their own moneys and are using the Dollar, Argentina is on the way, Mexico is contemplating it. Now the Canadian Dollar is under pressure to force us into abandoning it and become a full fledged US colony. The excuse will be that the money markets forced us to change our "weak" Dollar for the "strong" US.

What Mr. Chrétien was planning with the elections, with the full support of the Alliance, PC and BQ Parties is to have a full mandate to sell off Canada to the control of multinational corporations. The only difference in their policies is that Mr. Day and Clark would probably do it even faster, before anybody notices it.

Now please, look at your gas bills. Under NAFTA rules the government can not do anything to stop the exploitation, destitution, poisoning and enslavement of their citizens. Any action would be considered "protectionist trade distortions" and the companies would sue Canada for billions of lost profits The NAFTA rules demand that once a commodity is exported across borders, they can not be stopped until the last drop. No government can institute measures to save any commodity for the use of it's citizens.

Once these free trade agreements are signed, the commodities no longer belong to the country, but to multinationals who can do with them anything they want to and sell them to the highest bidder. Have your Alliance MPs ever told you about this? Why not? It is written in the NAFTA and WTO rule books in clear language.

In other words, dear friends, if Messrs. Chrétien, Day and Clark have their way it won't make any difference if Canadians freeze or go broke as long as capital is permitted to move freely and take home the profits.

Copyright (c) 2000, West's International