Study Shows Canadian Corporations Abuse Investment Treaties, Bully Governments Into Environmental Backtrack

bilaterals.org

Canadian investors have exploited a controversial mechanism in international investment treaties to challenge public interest regulations in 24 different countries, according to a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Story here.

RELATED: "Free Trade: Path to Prosperity or Back Road to Corporatism?"

A Huge El Niño Could Devastate Southern California

Los Angeles Times

It started in October 1997 in Mexico, when a hurricane fueled by El Niño slammed into Acapulco, causing massive flooding and hundreds of deaths. Details here.

Untouchable: The Climate Case Against Arctic Drilling

Common Dreams

A new reality is setting in in the region – a reality of a changing climate, and the scramble of Big Oil to move in where sea ice is disappearing. Story here.

RELATED:

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This is Shell's dream. The Canadian government just gave it permission to drill for oil off Nova Scotia's cost — and the company doesn't need to cap an oil blowout for 21 days. Please sign!!!

Fresh Food Fuels Change in Manitoba, Canada.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

People are food insecure when they do not have access to, or enough money to buy safe and nutritious food, preventing them from enjoying a healthy diet.  Food insecurity is a major concern for many low-income Winnipeg families. Story here.

The Boss in the Bubble: Harper’s Germ-Free Election Strategy

iPOLITICS

Voters have never seen a campaign as closed and isolationist as the one being conducted by the Conservative party this year. Details here.

Cool It on the AC Already

Mother Jones

How air conditioning is making us hotter. Story here.

Toxic Sludge Turns River in Colorado Orange

CBS News

Crews working for the Environmental Protection Agency were trying to clean up an old mine. But they accidentally sent a million gallons of toxic sludge into the Animas River. Story here.

Alberta Earthquakes Tied to Fracking, Not Just Wastewater Injection

Inside Climate News

While most fracking-related earthquakes in the U.S. are pegged to wastewater injection, Canadian scientists believe fracking itself is to blame in Alberta. Story here.

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If you liked this one, here's another: "Is the "Dubious Duo" of Fracking & Earthquakes More Common in Canada Than we Know? PinP Wonders..."

Canada Falls Far Short of Pope Francis’ Call for Ecological Justice.

KAIROS Canada

Canada is a prime example of a country that is putting short-term economic interests above what is needed to achieve a livable future for all who dwell on Earth, our common home. Story here.

Bernie Sanders is Drawing Big Crowds -- But How Long Will They Stick Around?

Los Angeles Times

The Summer of Sanders — as in Bernie, the Vermont socialist and long-shot presidential hopeful — has featured big crowds flocking to hear the U.S. senator’s fist-shaking message: 8,000 in Dallas, 10,000 in Madison, 11,000 in Phoenix. Story here.

Documents Just Leaked From the Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Spell Bad News For Our CBC.

Some Of Us

If the TPP passes, Crown corporations like the CBC could be required to operate entirely for profit. And worse -- this move could force the CBC to be privatized.

The mission of the CBC is to tell the bilingual and multicultural story of Canada – and if this deal passes, its only goal will be corporate profit.

Canadian politicians are extremely vulnerable to public pressure right now as they head into one of the longest election campaigns in Canadian history -- let's make sure our CBC is protected and not sold off for profit.

Sign the petition to Prime Minister Harper and the Party Leaders: Scrap the TPP and save the CBC!

The leaked document from Wikileaks shows that CBC, Canada Post and other Crown corporations could be forced into operating solely for profit if the TPP deal is passed.

Harper was gunning to pass the secretive and extreme TPP deal before the election was announced so he wouldn't have to answer to voters on the campaign trail. But last week's talks in Hawaii stalled out and public opposition is growing by the day. Harper has been busy making cuts to the CBC and other crown corporations for years, and honestly, we've had enough.

These institutions represent an essential part of the fabric of this country. We have no idea if this provision will make it into the deal's final text -- but we can't afford to wait and find out if Harper tries to unilaterally rubber stamp the TPP deal.

Call on Harper and Party Leaders to protect the CBC and our Crown corporations from terrible trade deals.

Harper called the election a whole month early because he thinks money is all it takes to hold on to power. Conservative MPs spent the days before the writ dropped on a corporate spending spree -- literally spending $4 billion to help secure votes.

Right now, we desperately need a publicly funded national broadcaster free from corporate influence. We need an alternative to Americanized corporate channels, one that gives Canadian writers, actors, producers and broadcasters have a place to grow and develop a national consciousness. The CBC used to excel at this and even now, crippled by successive funding cuts, it punches far above its weight.

At SumOfUs, we have been fighting for the CBC for years. And with the coming election, now is our chance to say loud and clear that we don't want a Canada without a fully funded public broadcaster. That means no corporate influence and no selling it off to benefit private interests.

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More information:

TPP Trade Deal Proposal Would See CBC, Canada Post Exist Solely For Profit, Huffington Post, 30 July 2015

Analysis of Leaked TPPA Paper for Ministers' Guidance on SOEs, Professor Jane Kelsey, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, 28 July 2015