Canadians are encouraged to email Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, as well as MPs Hon. Bob Rae, Hon. Maria Minna, Hon. Scott Brison, John Cannis, Mario Silva and Pablo Rodriguez. Use our on-line form to send them a letter.
Ottawa (15 April 2009) - With less than three weeks to go, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is urging Canadians to contact key Liberal Members of Parliament and demand that they take a stand against the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Canadians are encouraged to send letters to Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, as well as MPs Hon. Bob Rae, Hon. Maria Minna, Hon. Scott Brison, John Cannis, Mario Silva and Pablo Rodriguez. Click here to send your letter to these MPs.
The Harper government introduced legislation to implement the agreement in the House of Commons on March 26.
In a letter to Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NUPGE president James Clancy, said that it is "deeply inappropriate" for Canada to sign an agreement with the brutal Colombian regime of President Alvaro Uribe.
"I am asking that your party join with the New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois in opposing this agreement," Clancy writes.
"I am sure, given your background in international human rights issues, that you appreciate the severity of the human rights crisis in Colombia. The scope and magnitude of the violence is deeply troubling and the suffering of the Colombian people immense," he adds.
Human rights organizations have condemned the Harper Conservative government for going ahead with the deal, despite an ongoing human rights crisis that is taking place with little or no resistance from the Colombian government or what many see as outright complicity.
The National Union participated in an international solidarity mission to Colombia this past summer. The leaders of four Canadian public sector unions met with a broad range of labour, aboriginal, Afro-Colombian, peasant and civil society organizations.
"The overwhelming opinion of these organizations was that free trade with Colombia will lead to worse human and labour rights abuses and further devastation of communities at risk," Clancy pointed out in his letter to Ignatieff.
"These leaders reached the conclusion that a free trade agreement will not help the Colombian people. It will only exacerbate an already horrifying list of human and labour rights abuses that are shocking the world.
"It is deeply inappropriate for the Canadian government to ignore the pleas for assistance from some of the most persecuted and embattled people in the world," Clancy writes.
"Canada can, and should, play a leadership role in ensuring that a just and sustainable peace is achieved in Colombia. As an expert on international human rights I know that you appreciate the seriousness of this matter. I urge you and your party to oppose the proposed agreement."
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:
CLC Publication: Top ten reasons why Canada should cancel Harper's "free trade" deal with Colombia - pdf
On Facebook - Join Stop the Canada Colombia Free Trade Agreement
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