Harper's cabinet mulls massive Chinese resource project in Arctic

Harper's cabinet mulls massive Chinese resource project in Arctic

"Another massive Chinese-owned resource project is before Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet.

It would be hard to exaggerate the proposal's scope. Centred at Izok Lake, about 260 kilometres southeast of Kugluktuk, the project would stretch throughout a vast swath of western Nunavut.

Izok Lake would have five separate underground and open-pit mines producing lead, zinc and copper. Another site at High Lake, 300 kilometres to the northeast, would have another three mines.

MMG also wants a processing plant that could handle 6,000 tonnes of ore a day, tank farms for 35 million litres of diesel, two permanent camps totalling 1,000 beds, airstrips and a 350-kilometre all-weather road with 70 bridges that would stretch from Izok Lake to Grays Bay on the central Arctic coast.

MMG plans a port there that could accommodate ships of up to 50,000 tonnes

Izok Lake would be drained, the water dammed and diverted to a nearby lake. Three smaller lakes at High Lake would also be drained. Grays Bay would be substantially filled in.

The result would be a project producing 180,000 tonnes of zinc and another 50,000 tonnes of copper a year."

HD mining says won't replace all of its Chinese workers until 2026 (If ever)

"HD Mining, the Vancouver-based miner that in early October sparked controversy and legal actions with its plan to bring in up to 2,000 Chinese miners for its proposed $300 million coal mine, won't replace all of its foreign workers by Canadians at least until 2026.

The information came to light in court last Friday, after an attempt by two unions to stop more temporary Chinese workers from coming to Canada was dismissed by a Federal judge, reported The Journal of Commerce.

Documents tendered in the case showed that HD Mining's transition plan to replace temporary foreign workers with locals at its northern British Columbia coal project would take 14 years. They also revealed the company won't start hiring Canadian miners for more than four years."

I guess it all depends on your definition of "temporary".

Union suggests B.C. coal mines controlled by Chinese gov't

"VICTORIA -- The United Steelworkers says it has dug up what it calls close ties between the Chinese government and the reportedly privately-run coal mine in northeastern British Columbia embroiled in a foreign-worker controversy.

The union released a report Wednesday that suggests HD Mining International Ltd. -- the firm developing the proposed Murray River mine near Tumbler Ridge -- has ownership links to the government in China, where workers receive low wages in unsafe conditions.

A union report titled "Who Owns Huiyong Holdings and other Questions on Planned Chinese-Owned Coal Mines in B.C. " examines the ownership of Huiyong Holdings Group, which owns Huiyong Holdings (BC) Ltd., and holds 55 per cent of HD Mining.

The union' allege HD Mining wants to bring the workers to Canada and pay them lower wages than what Canadian miners earn for comparable work, depressing the labour market and causing irreparable harm."

HD Mining refuses to show B.C. unions the files on work permits for Chinese miners

" VANCOUVER—The mining company that is bringing in hundreds of miners from China to work on a northern B.C. coal operation is refusing to release its files on the temporary work permits it obtained from the federal government.

On Dec. 7, a federal court judge ordered HD Mining and the federal Human and Resources and Skills Development ministry to provide two B.C. unions with documentation on how the permits were requested and approved.

But HD Mining now says it has no “legal obligation” to open its files.

“We do not understand why the unions are continuing to press this litigation,” HD Mining chair Penggui Yan said in a statement. “HD Mining believes that all parties need to move beyond this litigation and work toward the constructive development of this project.” "

So a hostile foreign regime now controls our resources, is bringing in "temporary" workers to fill the jobs, and apparently has no "legal obligation" to abide by the decisions handed down by Canadian Courts.

 

Water drives First Nations angst on the streets and on the reserve

"Mining companies have flooded into the James Bay lowlands, into the area now dubbed the Ring of Fire. They've found an enormous expanse of chromite, enough nickel for a mine, and other metals that may hold potential in future years.

It's no surprise that water is constantly on his mind. It's also on the mind of the First Nations protesters who have taken to the streets in cities across Canada and blocked roads over the last few days in the Idle No More effort.

"The protection of water is a sacred obligation to indigenous people. Without clean water, life will cease to exist. Our obligation to protect water is an overall respect for life itself," said Chief Isadore Day of the Serpent River First Nation, near Elliot Lake, in an email as he wrapped up a weekend protest that briefly shut down the Trans-Canada Highway.

Protection of water is a large part of what has driven his people into the streets, Day said. Ottawa's latest omnibus bill changes the Navigable Waters Act to remove federal oversight from all but a few of Canada's lakes and rivers — without consulting the people whose health and livelihoods depend on them.

"This is why our people are opposed to the omnibus bill; it blatantly disregards water," Day said."

The Communists have put a great priority on manipulating Canada's political system, Canada is the largest holder of freshwater reserves in the world, thanks in part to responsible environmental protection. Canada is now a target. Always be prepared. The first order of business in every colonization is to corrupt the political elite, for they are the most out of touch, and they perceive their fate to be unconnected to the well being of their people. First they come for the gold, then the copper and the timber, then the land itself, and finally when all humanity is destroyed, the last drop of water.

Now we stand on guard for all humanity against the tides of darkness, we stand on guard for thee.

Hunger Strikes

By Elizabeth May
"Government House leader Peter Van Loan even tried to block my amendments in particular – arguing to the Speaker that they should not be tabled because there was no chance they would pass. There’s an interesting appreciation of democracy. Fortunately, the Speaker rejected the notion quite firmly. But Van Loan was right. No amendments succeeded, whether NDP, Liberal, Bloc or Green. C-45 has cleared the House and the Senate, but as the cross-country #idlenomore movement takes off, the Canada-China Investment Treaty and its potential to violate treaty and Constitutionally protected aboriginal rights is not yet ratified."

China passes rules tightening internet controls

"China's government tightened controls on internet users today by enacting rules requiring them to register their names, a move made after online postings about graft and abuses rattled the ruling party.

The measure would require network service providers to ask users to provide their real names and other identifying information to allow users to post information publicly or when signing agreements for access to the Internet, fixed telephone lines or mobile phones, Xinhua said.

Beijing promotes internet use for business and education, but bans material deemed subversive or obscene and blocks access to many websites."

A look at the year ahead. 2013 Potential War and Continuing Economic Collapse.  

 

Chinese think tank: conflict inevitable between Japan, China over Senkakus

"The “report on the development of the Asia-Pacific region” points out that China’s rapid development is raising anxieties in surrounding nations, forcing them into taking precautions and requiring them to accept the “readjustment” of the power balance."

Professor: Don't Be Surprised If There's A War Between Japan And China In The Next Year

"Chinese planes flew near Japanese airspace Monday to assert its claims to Japan's Senkaku islands (China calls them the Diaoyu islands).

The move came just as Japan announced its new prime minister.

Hugh White, a professor at Australian National University and a former Australian defense official, believes this is the latest sign the two countries are heading to war.

And the U.S. will be dragged in."

China challenges Japan - U.S. Alliance

"When a Chinese military surveillance plane overflew the islands two weeks ago, Japan scrambled fighter jets in response. The next day, an editorial in Global Times, a mainland newspaper tied to the Chinese Communist Party, said the overflight “marks the beginning of China’s air surveillance” of the islands.

So China is already telling us that it will continue its aggressive ways even if this results in a military conflict with Japan. It’s not too hard to figure out that a China-Japan military conflict will soon involve the US.

In the last year, we have already seen China’s aggressive behavior on display with the Philippines, and the Philippines also has a defensive treaty with the US. Apparently, China didn’t seem to care about the treaty.

The Chinese have also elevated the level of tension for all ships entering the South China Sea starting in 2013:

China’s plan to board and search ships that illegally enter what it considers its territory in the disputed South China Sea could spark naval clashes and hurt the region’s economy, Southeast Asia’s top diplomat warned on Friday."

Three possible scenarios in South China Sea

"1. There is no hedemonic power that is willing to create a stable order. The US is in decline. US leadership is sleeping.
2. There is no avoidance of overly aggressive behavior by China.
3. China appears to want only bilateral talks with individual countries. This is a divide and conquer strategy. No regional solution appears in the horizon.
4. China has already used economic strategies to punish Japan and Philippines.
5. Institutions for dialog exist, but they are not being used effectively.
6. The concept of win-win does not appear in the Chinese language. I’m not making this up."

In 2013, the great unraveling of the global economy (Failure of Globalism)

"The disparate prospects of each continent have little in common. To the extent that they can be linked by a single theme in 2013, however, it is the idea of the unraveling of the global economy and the political integration that supported it. After two decades of globalization, this year will see each of the big political theaters re-erecting barriers and focusing more on domestic repairs than on global expansion. The unraveling has its roots in longer-term trends, but it is set to step up in the next year."

Petitioners Ask Former Security Czar to Explain His Vast Budget

"Zhou headed the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee (PLAC) for five years, but was replaced after the recent 18th Party Congress. Under his leadership, the state organ’s stability maintenance expenditure has been rising every year, and is mainly used to oppress petitioners and dissidents, as well persecute Falun Gong, a spiritual practice based on the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance. In 2012, the expenditure rose by 11.5 percent, even surpassing China’s military expenditure"

China academics warn of "violent revolution" if no political reform

"The letter said democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights were "a global trend that could not be stopped".

"China's 100 years of bloody and violent history - especially the painful and tragic lesson of the decade-long Cultural Revolution - show that once we go against the tide of democracy, human rights, rule of law and constitutional government, the people will suffer disaster and social and political stability will be impossible," the letter said."

Be careful, this could be a decoy to project weakness when in fact the regime is strong. Art of War.

Chinese Men Jailed for Calling On Hu Jintao to Disclose Assets

"Contrary to new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign talk, several people have been sentenced to prison and re-education through labor after they called on officials to disclose their personal assets earlier this year. "

Some Tariffs finally raised to protect against China’s Photovoltaic Manufacturers

"According to statistics of EU ProSun, in 2011, China reached a total PV production capacity of 45 GW but domestic consumption was only 2 GW. The production capacity spurred by massive subsidies and state incentives was over 20 times higher than actual demand for solar powered electricity. The only way out was exporting the surplus production.

“More than 90 percent of PV products made in China were exported to foreign countries,” Xie Chen, an analyst at the Silicon Branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said to Securities Daily, a Chinese business daily. “About 60 percent are exported to Europe and 30 percent are exported to the United States and other countries.”

European company SolarWorld said China’s massive production overcapacity and government-funded export drive have left the world industry in ruins. In the U.S. market alone, at least 22 solar producers have closed plants or laid off significant numbers of workers. Chinese producers also have experienced losses in the billions of dollars, but those companies survive as a result of Chinese government bailouts, SolarWorld added.

EU ProSun said, in 2012 alone Chinese dumping of solar cells forced over 30 European companies to close shop, lay off workers or be taken over by foreign investors. Thousands of jobs were lost, many factories closed and research and development (R&D) halted."

Idle No More First Nations Uprising over Chinese Takeover Bill C-45

Many thanks to the First Nations People for standing on the front lines in defence of Canadian Democracy. We must preserve the Wisdom of the Elders. We must learn to respect the land and the people. Unite in resistance to tyranny. Stand up for Canada.

Rising aboriginal frustration palpable

“OTTAWA -- As far as First Nations are concerned, it is fitting that Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada had approved the Chinese takeover of two Canadian oil companies from the room on Parliament Hill known as the Aboriginal People's Committee Room.

It was just another sign the natural resources First Nations should be benefiting from were being sold off under their noses without their input. Just days earlier, Chief Patrick Madahbee of the Anishinabek Nation Grand Council was among a group of chiefs who tried to force their way into the House of Commons to be heard, angry that the government appeared to be uninterested in listening to or working with First Nations.”
  

 The grassroots movement, which has included a hunger strike by Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and rallies across the country:

“There is little central organization of the movement, said Martin, who became alarmed after researching the federal government’s Bill C-45, the omnibus bill that scraps protection for many of Canada’s waterways and makes it possible to sell reserve land without consultation, and FIPA — the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement — a powerful investment treaty with China.

Martin is hoping the rally will attract not only First Nations, but anyone who is against the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline”

Idle No More vs. Bill C-45: First Nations Leaders Launch National Protest In Ottawa As Movement Grows

“The Canadian Auto Workers and civil service unions across the country have also shown support for the movement, saying they stand in solidarity with First Nations in a struggle against Bill C-45.”

Vancouver Sun Video: First Nations in B.C. stand united against Enbridge. 

Chiefs unite with Mayors in resistance to the Feds and big money China Backers. 

 

 Federal Minister Finley could face contempt of court charges in HD Mining court case

“Federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley could be facing a contempt of court charge tomorrow if documents related to a court case involving HD Mining and two unions are not released. Charles Gordon, lawyer for the International Union of Operating Engineers and Construction and Specialized Workers Unions, said the ministry has not forced HD Mining to release documents containing resumes of Canadians who applied for jobs at the company's Murray River coal mine project. Earlier this month, a federal court justice ordered all materials related to Labour Market Opinions used to apply for permits for 201 Chinese nationals to work at the mine be given to the unions. This week, a Federal Court of Appeal judge wouldn't accept an appeal filed by the federal government to block the ruling.” Steven Harper and Christy Clark have alined themselves with the Chinese Communist Party. The Feds are doing everything they can to back up the Chinese resource companies in their struggle to import Chinese workers against the wishes of Canadian Unions.

 What the CSIS director said and why 

“Richard Fadden basically alleged that the Chinese government is infiltrating Canadian political bodies subtlely and that this influence extends to municipal and political bureaucrats and politicians and even a couple of unnamed cabinet ministers. It was a very alarming allegation for a spymaster to make publicly. In Canada, we don't have a tradition of CSIS going public with theses sorts of concerns about specific individuals, and certainly [not]individual politicians.”

 

HD Mining's Biggest Backer Is Mysterious,Tracing BC coal mine owners, union left in dark about majority shareholder Huiyong Holdings.  

“It also questions the backgrounds of some of the people involved in the company, such as the company's chief consultant Ye Qing, referring to him as "as high-level an insider as one might hope to become within the Chinese Communist Party." The United Steelworkers' Union has been pressuring the government to consider pulling HD Mining's permits allowing 201 Chinese miners to work at the company's Murray River project since discovering help wanted ads indicating Mandarin language skills were an asset for the jobs. They alleged the mine wants to use Chinese workers to cut down on labour costs and benefits. Last week one of the miners from China filed a human rights complaint against the union on the grounds it has stir up contempt for Chinese people, a charge the USW has denied saying it is protecting the interests of local workers.”

What a Joke, try and file a human rights complaint against the CCP and see what happens.



To become a resource colony for the CCP, the biggest human rights abuser in the world, is against what Canada is supposed to stand for. Have some guts and stand up to the establishment. People like us make the world what it is, history is not a show that passes us by, we make history, get involved in the movement.

Rafe Mair: All I Want for Christmas Is a May election that puts in power true defenders of BC's natural bounty. 

“To me the dominant issue before all others going into May's provincial election is the environment. Fiscal fudge-ups can be fixed as can most bad policy. But environmental damage -- be it due to fish farms, pipelines, tankers, Site C or loss of agricultural land -- is, to all intents and purposes, permanent.”

Oil riches wasted discredit the 'Calgary School.' But a proven path to prosperity exists. 

“Alberta is responsible for setting and collecting petroleum rents for 70 per cent of Canada's production -- the sixth largest in the world. Why is the province that casts itself as the seat of sound fiscal management, now having to borrow money while cutting services and running deficits? Norway produces roughly the same amount of oil as Alberta, yet this tiny nation has managed to salt away over $600 billion in accumulated oil wealth in a sovereign wealth fund that now amounts to more than one per cent of global equity markets.

Norway has no public debt, full employment and fully-funded social programs that Canadians would drool over. Norwegians enjoy free university tuition, universal day care and 25 days of paid holidays per year. Per capita spending on healthcare is thirty per cent higher in Norway; funding for arts and culture is more than three times higher than Canada.”


So our resources are now owned by a totalitarian regime, workers will be brought in from China, to work at Chinese owned resource developments. Pipelines, will be build to ship our unprocessed oil reserves across First Nations Territory putting waterways at risk to a fuel product that specifically is impossible to clean up. The resources will be loaded on to huge Chinese tankers that will make daily trips through some of the most dangerous coastline waters in the world, all against the wishes of the majority of the Canadian people. And on top of that The director of the Canadian spy agency has warned that certain foreign governments are aggressively recruiting Canadian politicians.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Industrial Apartheid – How to Stop the New World Order Part 2

Wealth, Nations, and the New World Order 

To become wealthy one must consume less than they produce and invest the excess savings wisely. I'm sure we all know people who just can't seem to figure this out. They spend everything they earn as soon as the cash flows in. Some people even go into debt to finance their irresponsible consumption. Debt is only good if it is used as a tool to finance investments that produce a return, and even then caution should be used to keep debt at a manageable level.

The same principles that apply to individuals apply to nations. A nation can not consume more than it produces and expect to remain a wealthy nation. Nations engage in trade with one another just as individuals do. Goods can be exchanged for three things:

Other Goods (I trade my lumber for your smartphone)

Debt (I promise to pay in the future plus interest for your smartphone)

Assets (I sell my business to you for your smartphone)

If a nation is consuming more than it is producing it must pay through the creation of debts or through the sale of assets. No nation can issue debt forever, as eventually the country will not be able to afford the interest payments. No nation can sell assets forever as every nation only has a limited amount of assets. Our capacity to trade is finite, it is limited to our ability to pay. Therefore the strategy of a leader should be to increase the wealth of the nation, by maintaining stewardship over the balance of trade.

A nations consumption should be regulated, that it not exceed a nations production, unless in times of legitimate crises such as war, where the survival of the nation is at stake. The objective of national wealth is met by the maximization of national ownership over advanced productive assets, and the minimization of national obligations to deliver future payment to foreign creditors. In short, it is the responsibility of our representatives in government to increase our ownership of assets and decrease our debts to foreigners.

We are now living in a New World Order. The Globalists have moved our national productive capacities outside of our boarders. Our economy is made in China, and all the wealth generated that once would have gone to balance our books is now in the hands of a racist Totalitarian Regime. Our corporations are no longer national but “multinational”. They have no loyalty to our national objectives. In fact many times the interests of corporations are in direct conflict with our national interest.

When corporations were first permitted to exist, there was effort taken to ensure that they served the public interest. In exchange for limited liability, a protection to limit the liability of investors to what they invested, investors were meant to serve the public interest. It was an exchange, a transaction between the state and the private investor, legal protection for public service.

This is in sharp contrast to the role of corporations in today's society. Today the corporations have concentrated so much wealth, so much power, that it is often the corporations who now regulate the behaviour of the government.

Multinational corporations will act to maximize corporate wealth regardless of the consequences to our national wealth. Therefore we must bring the corporate interest back into line with the national interest through policy and regulatory instruments.

To become capable, one must be engaged in activities that build capability. One must read write and think to become learned. One must exercise to become strong. Those who do not commit to engaging in these activities will not become learned or strong. Capability is a manifestation of the will to become capable.

The same principles that apply to individuals also apply to nations. National Capability is the aggregate capability of the people of the nation. To create national wealth it is not enough to simply balance the dollar value of trade. The steward must also act to ensure that the people of the nation are employed in advanced activities that improve capability. It is not good for any country to be trapped as a resource colony of another.

The service sector alone does not provide sufficient opportunity for a nations people to reach their fullest capability. Furthermore, economies that are now overly dependant on the non-tradable service sector are not producing value added tradable goods. This leaves two options for a nation, run trade deficits, or massively increase exports of raw materials to pay for all the finished products entering the country.

Both options are bad. Trade deficits mean more debt and asset sell offs. Raw resource exports combined with lack of manufacturing capability mean the nation will become dependent on imports of finished goods. Finished goods that will cost more to the nation than was earned through initial export, forcing an increased extraction of the nations resources just to pay the spiraling cost of value added imports.

Industrial Apartheid is a form of Economic Imperialism where one nation monopolizes manufacturing and captures other nations, making them supply raw resources to the aggressor while prying open the captive nations markets to be flooded with manufactured goods of the aggressor nation. The aggressor nation becomes wealthy off of the captured nations and make every effort to make sure that the captured nations do not gain their Industrial Independence. This is done through the corruption of the ruling class in the captured nation using a cut of the loot taken by the aggressor. The New World Order is Industrial Apartheid.

To stop the New World Order and the Globalists we must rise up as the worlds people and assert our Industrial Independence. We must spawn a new political movement that will bring manufacturing capability back under the control of the people. Every nation has a right to produce. No nation, no people should suffer under the chains of eternal debt slavery.

Our future should be one where democracy and human rights are the property of all human beings. Where every local region has the capacity to offer its people opportunity, because the old NWO manufacturing monopolies were broken. Our future is one where the unholy axis between multinational corporations and the communist party of China is broken, and the will of the people is no longer beholden to the dictates of international trade and investment deals crafted and administered in secret.

These are more than words, these are ideas. These are the dreams and the aspirations of the worlds people. No one really wants to kill or die for the corrupt and powerful. No one wants to live in a world where the people are threatened with violence all to maintain the power of a psychopathic minority. No one wants Industrial Apartheid, so now let us unite in our declaration of Industrial Independence.

This endeavour will require us to elect representatives that will operate according to the principals of Industrial Independence and Democratic Sovereignty. Industrial Independence being the notion that every nation has a right to manufacturing capacity, and Democratic Sovereignty being the right of a nations people to decide their own trade and industrial policies regardless of the dictates of the World Trade Organization or any other international trade and investment deal.

The policies to be adopted will vary from nation to nation but the underlying idea will be the same. Nations should produce at least as much as they consume. Nations have a right to have their own manufacturing industries. Nations have a right to produce their own food and set strict food safety regulations. Nations have a right to refuse foreign takeovers of their productive assets. Ultimate authority rests in the hands of the people of the nation through the process of democracy and not in the corporate boardroom. CEOs must balance the needs of the country with the need for efficiency.

Whenever possible the act of consumption should be taxed over the act of production. We want to create an incentive for people to act responsibly. Nations should have the right to set tariffs, impose non-tariff barriers and even ban imports. Nations should be able to build their grids using components domestically produced or produced in friendly democratic countries. Nations should be able to feed themselves and provide for their defense.

Strategic Industrial policy’s can be crafted by a vetted team of technocratic business strategists, futurists, engineers and scientists whose mandate is to create a long term national strategy to achieve National Capability. A central agency can be created to co-ordinate all branches of government to be in line with the national economic interest. An industry portfolio management division should be created with the mandate of maximizing the number of star and cash cow industries.

We must provide incentives for industries to localize operations. Local start ups should be nurtured in exchange for their long term commitment to localized production, employment and the national interest. Supply chains should be localized. Research and development should at least be 3% of GDP, preferably more.

Education must include courses on how to handle money, business, critical thinking, philosophy, ethics and how to take responsibility for your family and your country. We must commit to building character in our people as they are the strongest tower of our defense.

We should create a National Manufacturing Research and Development Agency whose mandate is to research advanced production techniques to improve the efficiency of our producers. The innovations can be licensed to domestic producers. The objective will be to find advances in areas like new processes, information systems, robotics, advanced materials, energy efficiency, mass customization, waste water management, 3D printing, modularization, continuous flow.

We should consider establishing special economic manufacturing zones in depressed areas with tax advantages and a ready supply of unemployed labour. We should Co-ordinate to activities of our nationally controlled multinationals so they do not cannibalize each others strategic moves.

Core industries must be kept under domestic control including defense, agriculture, energy, health, infrastructure construction, education. The strategic goal of a nation should be to retain National Capability, the ability of a nation to take actions and create its own future free form foreign aggression and manipulation of the democratic process.

Our objectives should include a commitment to keep growth industries in within our jurisdiction, and to not surrender our capacity them to the evils of outsourcing. We invest a lot of resources in developing new projects, only for production of those projects, and thus return on investment, to leave our jurisdiction. This waste must end.

We must put provisions in place to prevent trade deficits from occurring. We must limit foreign ownership of our debts and require retirement plans to invest a percentage in public dept, sweetening the deal by making the required contributions interest tax free.

We should create a national development bank to provide funding for national projects and provide below market rates to patriotic domestic companies acting in the national interest.

Our goal should be to make our nations into leading technological innovators. If all nations are directing resources to this we can tap the human talent pool, and prevent authoritarian regimes from monopolizing technological capability. We should provide organizational assistance to underdeveloped democracies of the world to build relationships with the mutual goal of undermining Industrial Apartheid, and advancing the cause of human rights. We should create an Alliance of Democracies.

Me should maintain focus on the strategic industries of the future, clean energy, next generation information technology, biotechnology, high tech manufacturing, new energy sources, new materials, new energy cars/ transportation methods. We should plan cities to require less transportation infrastructure, mixing living, working, shopping and recreation centers.

Government procurement should be purchased from domestic industries, increasing output, spreading fixed costs over more units and thus lowering cost per unit. We must strategically guard against foreign direct investment by hostile nations.

In order to deal with imbalances there are a number of non-tariff barriers that can be utilized including, import bans, country of origin requirements, protection of sanitary and phytosanitary conditions, product specific quotas, quality condition regulations, packaging and labeling requirements, product standards, trade documents, certificates of origin or certificate of authenticity, health safety regulations, employment laws, import licenses, rules about subsidies or state ownership, rules against export subsidies, minimum import price requirements, import quotas, lengthy customer procedures.

We should regulate the practice of transfer pricing.

Instead of the government going into debt every time they feel they need economic stimulus, government owned limited liability corporations should go into debt and spend on the domestic economy, this way the public has limited liability, debt obligations are compartmentalized and funds are directed in a more targeted manner to undertake specific industrial objectives.

An international media campaign should take the message of Industrial Independence, opportunity, and prosperity directly to the worlds people. Once the electorate is organized and aware the politicians will have a hard time ignoring the will of the people if they want to be elected. No one wants to be a resource colony to a violent totalitarian regime. Preserving our democracy is preserving our prosperity. With every act of oppression directed towards us, the movement will grow.

Money must be taken out of politics. Donations should be limited to citizens only, not organizations, and a limit of some small amount, say $20 max donation per person per year should be put in place. Tax breaks for political donations should be eliminated. Limits should be put on the amount an individual can use of their own money to finance a political campaign. Politicians should not be allowed to hire strategists, communications directors, or campaign managers. This will promote more open dialogue about the issues and remove a lot of spin.

Lobbying should be illegal. If you are a corporation with infinite funds you should not get special access to write the nations laws. Political parties should be less powerful and candidates should not be pressured to vote the same way as their party. The debates should be moderated with clearly set rules stating that the candidates must stick to the issues.

Our political systems must be reformed. As they stand they do not represent the broad will of the people. There are too many barriers to participation, and entire election cycles can pass without any real issues being addressed. People are disengaged because they are sick of this never ending circus. Reforms must be made to ensure we are never led down this path of debt, asset sales and outsourcing ever again. Capitalism in it's current form is at odds with national prosperity.

Our dream is one where people can live and love one another, free from political violence, in functioning democracies that protect the human rights of the people. A world where nations do not consume more than they produce, where industrial production is localized, and the efforts of the worlds nations are focused on innovation funded by localized opportunity centres in every region, fed by the talent and aspirations of the worlds free thinkers.

The way of localized manufacturing is the way we must go for two reasons:

1. Our current trade imbalances are unsustainable both financially and environmentally.

2. If we allow advanced manufacturing production and innovation to be concentrated in the hands of the communist party of China, they will being death and destruction to the worlds people. We must not allow a totalitarian regime who rules by the barrel of the gun to achieve global dominance. The lives of all those who think freely, and the value dialogue brings to society will be lost if power is left to those who have made it their goal to kill everyone who gets in their way of global domination.

Please put away your hatred and realize you are human. Your future is in learning to love those who disagree with you. Your future is in democracy.

Together we will stand for something.
We will make this all mean something.
Together we will end Industrial Apartheid.


Joel McLellan
Pray for us.

Spouses of Canadian Cabinet Ministers hold portfolios of publicly-traded securities

Spouses of ministers hold portfolios of publicly-traded securities

Ottawa Citizen

“The spouses of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and seven other Conservative cabinet ministers are holding portfolios of publicly-traded securities without having to put the assets into blind trusts.

Harper himself lists no stock holdings, suggesting that the couple’s financial investments are made in her name. In August, they took out a joint loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia. Its value or purpose were not publicly disclosed.

Harper’s office refused to say which stocks his wife’s portfolio contains, or whether any of them are among the Alberta energy companies whose future performance could depend on upcoming cabinet decisions about pipeline policy and Chinese investment in the oilsands.”

So politicians get to buy and sell stocks, and make decisions that affect the value of those stalks. Nexen stockholders got a 65% premium on the deal. If the politicians know ahead of time the outcome of company announcements there is really very little risk matched to a very high return.

The conflict of interest is clear. Sell Canada off and make millions as a "commission" on every transaction. We need to regulate this.

It is psychopathic to make money off of handing the world over to a totalitarian dictatorship.

ChineseFirms Bringing Own Workers a Global Pattern: Expert

“But he said usually the countries that allow Chinese firms to import their own labour or other questionable business practices are underdeveloped dictatorships, adding it's "bizarre" Canada has allowed it.

Navarro added the controversial Nexen deal also showcases ineptitude in dealing with China by Canada's leaders.

"I saw a young Trudeau supporting this and, my god, somebody needs to take him over to Africa and watch how the Chinese do business there and see what it's like," he said.
"That man is out of his depth."

The Federal Ministry of Human Resources and Development Canada has not answered three recent requests by the Tyee to clarify how many Chinese miners are already working in Hudson's Hope, B.C., a separate project than the Tumbler Ridge mine.

Meanwhile the federal government has dedicated resources to effectively argue on the side of HD Mining in its court case with two unions trying to keep information about how the miners ended up in Canada confidential, offering a deal to release some of the information as long as it wasn't made public.”

 

HumanRights Day in Beijing Smothered by Police

“Hundreds of Chinese activists were arrested in Beijing on Dec. 10 after they protested against human rights abuses near the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership compound and elsewhere in the capital.”

CBC Investigates: Mandarin a Job requirement for Chinese Owned Resource Companies in Canada

The art of war, Chinese style

 "The recent 50th anniversary of China's invasion of India attracted much discussion, especially within India. Yet the debate shied away from drawing the broader, long-term lessons for Asian security."

Chairman Harper Faces Party Revolt

At 5pm last Friday, Prime Minister Harper announced that he has approved the controversial

takeover of Canadian oil giant Nexen by China’s state-owned National Offshore Oil

Corporation, CNOOC.[1] Now that the Nexen takeover has been approved, it’s more important

than ever that we stop FIPA, the secretive and extreme Canada-China investors deal.

Harper just raised the stakes. If FIPA passes, CNOOC will gain the power to sue Canadian

governments in secret tribunals if they believe our democratic decisions impact their

expected profits -- even local decisions to create jobs, or protect our air, water and

health.

Prime Minister Harper can only pass the deal at a cabinet meeting, and we’ve found out

they are scheduled to meet twice before breaking for the holidays - this Thursday and next

Thursday.

Thanks to you, we were ready for this - we just launched more hard-hitting radio and print

ads to deepen the divisions within Harper’s caucus. Now we need your help to ramp up the

pressure on vulnerable Conservative MPs by broadcasting your urgent message in their

backyards.

Can you chip in now to send a powerful message to hundreds of thousands of Canadians in

key Conservative-held ridings? Just $20 will help buy one radio ad spot in a key riding.

$100 will help buy five.

We know our pressure is working. Experts thought Prime Minister Harper would approve this

FIPA when he first had a chance on November 2nd. Together, we blanketed key Conservative

MPs’ ridings with radio ads, and Harper delayed.

The Conservative MPs in Ottawa are now deeply divided over this FIPA. We have reliable

reports of a recent Conservative caucus meeting, where one Conservative MP after another

got up to tell Harper they have grave concerns about the deal. They’ve been hearing from

their constituents, including many Canadians who voted for them, and they know they’re

losing crucial support and funding over this secretive and extreme investor deal. By the

end of the meeting, Harper was fuming!

Now it’s time to double our efforts. Today we placed a full page ad in Ottawa’s Embassy

Magazine, one of the major papers read by MPs, and we’ve used up our last reserves for

this campaign to fund another wave of hard-hitting radio ads targeted in key battleground

ridings where Conservative MPs are the most vulnerable.

Let’s stop this investor deal before it binds Canada for 31 years. Your donations will

keep up the pressure through the next two weeks before the holidays, and help pay for key

campaign costs. Click here to donate to put hard-hitting radio ads targeting key

Conservative MPs back on the air across the country.

http://www.leadnow.ca/fipa-radio-ads

If Harper can’t control the dissent within his own caucus, he can’t risk passing FIPA. By

directly pressuring vulnerable MPs on their home turf, we’ll deepen the divisions within

Harper’s caucus and make it politically impossible for him to pass FIPA before the

holidays.

The public is outraged by the Nexen takeover, and this is the key moment to focus

attention on the Canada-China FIPA where it will make the biggest impact. If we raise

$15,000 we can blanket radio ads across key Conservative ridings all over the country to

amplify your impact. Click here to make a secure donation.

Thank you for all you do.

With hope and respect,

Jamie, Matthew, Maggie, Adam, Ryan, Anna, Jen, Logan and Julia on behalf of the Leadnow.ca

team

PS - The fact that Prime Minister Harper has claimed that the Nexen approval is the “end”

and not the “beginning” of state-owned foreign takeovers shows a major reversal in his

position in the face of intense public opposition.[1]

The new guidelines say a takeover like Nexen will only occur again in “exceptional

circumstances”, but they lack teeth, and we need to stop the secretive and extreme

Canada-China FIPA from giving China’s companies the ability to sue our government in

secret tribunals if common-sense laws challenge their growing interests. Click here to

donate today.

CNOOC Deal a transfer of sensitive technology

"Hong Kong. September 27. INTERFAX-CHINA - China National Offshore Oil Corp.’s (CNOOC) $15.1 billion bid for Nexen Inc. is coming under increasing scrutiny in Canada over concerns that the state-owned Chinese major could transfer sensitive extraction technology outside of the country after gaining control of the Canadian oil sands developer."

So now the Chinese Communists get our most sensitive franking and deep water drilling technology.
Every day now, more revelations that the scale of the betrayal is beyond comprehension.
 

Encana, PetroChina form partnership to develop natural gas in Alberta

"CALGARY - Less than a week after Ottawa waved through CNOOC Ltd.'s $15.1-billion takeover of Nexen Inc., a different Chinese state-owned company is plowing another $2.2 billion into the Canadian oilpatch."

Nexen Cave-in: Chairman Harper's Economic Desperation

"These musings on bitumen's dimming prospects from a major U.S. business paper and a former deputy minister no less shed light on Harper's abrupt conversion from Chinese critic to Chinese puppet.

They also clarify why the Harper government bluntly ignored public opinion and rubber stamped the CNOOC buy-out of indebted Nexen for three times more than its actual value. CNOOC, by the way, reports to the Communist Party of China. As such the firm has little regard for transparency, human rights or offshore oil spills for that matter.

Bitumen's ailing prospects also explain the government's secretive negotiation of a one-sided investment treaty with China that could make China's highly subsidized and corrupt state owned enterprises the nation's number one foreign investors by 2017.

Harper's disregard for democratic sentiment on these issues (Canadians and Albertans in particular remain opposed to a CNOOC sell-out, let alone the trade deal) ultimately spell one word: desperation. And desperation in a bust and boom petro state, as any North African can tell you, is not a pretty thing."

If China Can Have State-Owned Energy Firms, Why Can't We?

"Apparently there's a lot wrong with public ownership of natural resources -- if you are ideologically motivated to oppose it.

That may explain why the two parties that have alternated in governing Canada for more than the past century both wanted to get rid of PetroCanada.

And their lack of commitment to Canadian ownership of our own natural resources is why both Harper and the Liberal Party's heir-apparent leader Justin Trudeau both approved of the CNOOC and takeover.

So while the rest of the world reaps the rewards of public ownership of natural resources, Canada has not only gone in the opposite direction, it's also allowing foreign companies to take over what is rightfully ours."

TPP: Another Flawed, Hush Hush Trade Deal

"Moreover, the price of entry may be high, since leaked documents suggest the deal might require a major overhaul of Canadian agriculture, investment, intellectual property and culture protection rules.

While the substance of the TPP is cause for concern, the more immediate issue is the lack of transparency associated with both the negotiations and Canada's participation in them.

The talks remain shrouded in secrecy, with a draft text that is confidential; public interest groups are largely banned from the venue where the negotiations are being held."

Harper OKs China Nexen Takeover - Madarin a job requirement - ITU Global Control

"a date which will live in infamy." Dec 7 2012

Just as Chairman Harper gives away another huge patch of Canadian territory to his Communist backers he calls a press conference to say:

     "When we say that Canada is open for business, we do not mean that Canada is for sale to foreign governments,'' Harper said at a hastily called news conference.

Ok, so you tell the people that you don't like want foreign governments controlling Canadian resources, right after you announce that you have approved a 15 billion dollar takeover of Canadian territory by the Communist Chinese regime. There is a big difference between what you say and what you do Chairman. If you were really concerned about foreign control, why did you just ok the deal.
No consultation, do debate, just an announcement after parliament goes home for the weekend.
     

Nexen-CNOOC Takeover Deal Approved: Feds Okay Bid For Calgary Company By Chinese Firm

"Canada's spy agency raised a red flag on foreign investment by state-owned firms in its annual report earlier this year.

Though CSIS didn't name specific countries or companies, it said certain state-owned enterprises have pursued what it called opaque agendas or received clandestine intelligence support for their pursuits in Canada."
 
"Today they're trying to sugar-coat something that I think will be a rather bitter pill,''

"This is a farce. While Conservatives admit that under the new rules this transaction is not a net benefit to Canadians, they have approved it anyway.''
 

Mandarin a requirement for foreign miners application: court docs

"VANCOUVER - A mining company under scrutiny over its plan to bring 201 Chinese miners to a proposed project in northern British Columbia listed Mandarin as a language requirement when it applied for temporary foreign worker permits, newly released documents reveal.

The Federal Court released a package of documents Friday linked to HD Mining's proposed Murray River underground coal mine, which has been overshadowed by controversy over the use of temporary foreign workers."

It's not just for this company, check the job listings.

The most damaging things happening to Canada are the things you cannot see

"I have been increasingly alarmed by what I think is a fundamental re-structuring of the internal workings of government. It is hard to create public awareness of the issue because it requires a very boring dissertation on how things used to be.

 Other things that make me think the government is not functioning as it should come from many conversations I have had with Ministers in Cabinet. Without betraying personal conversations, it has been clear to me over and over again, that they do not know what is going on in their departments.

 My sense is that decisions are made by Stephen Harper alone. He dispatches orders directly to the Clerk of Privy Council, who sends instructions to the Deputy Ministers. The Ministers are handed the talking points to explain decisions they didn’t make."

 

Canada's Petro Lobbyists Grow Faster than Pipelines

"Oil and pipeline companies, including seven of the world's largest corporations, have intensified their lobbying efforts in Ottawa over the last four years and held 2,733 meetings with public officials."

 

Chinese aggression ratcheting up

 "With most of the world’s attention focused on the realignment of the “Arab Spring,” Islamists and the latest Hamas-Israeli conflict, China continues its aggressive island imperialism in both the South China and East China seas with its illegal territorial claims. The confrontational incidents forced by China’s bullying tactics on our regional allies — most recently, Japan over the Senkaku Islands and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal — are clearly unacceptable."

 

China, Russia make grab for Internet through the ITU

The ITU threat to freedom

Investment Treaties Basis of New World Order

The "Free Trade" agreements that have been forced on the world form the legal basis of Globalist Elite Rule. Our democratically elected "representatives" are bound by the orders handed down to them from unaccountable private international tribunals. Democracy has been stolen from us through an unholy axis between multinational corporations and the communist party of china.

The people demand the restoration of our sovereignty, that we may live in peace and self determination. That we may be secure from the clutches of tyranny. That no hostile force should rule over us, and all future generations are spared from the shackles of slavery.

The misguided belief of the few, that they are above the many, is the tragedy of mankind.

         J

    

Investment Treaties Like FIPA Spin Huge Profits for Lawyers

Canada, for example, is being sued for $250 million and legal teams feast off such wrangling.

By Jamie Biggar and Emma Pullman 

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/11/30/FIPA-Profits-For-Lawyers/

Canadians from across the political spectrum have come together to oppose the secretive and extreme Canada-China FIPA investor deal. The FIPA would allow foreign corporations to sue the Canadian government if they believe any level of government has done anything to limit their interests, and the lawsuits would be heard in investor-state arbitrations that function as secret tribunals outside the Canadian court system. 

Within Canada, citizen opposition has fueled a media debate that has, in turn, been dominated by people who have an apparent financial stake in the outcome that has not been disclosed to the public.
And now, a new report shows that while other countries like Australia are rejecting investor-state arbitration, this radical form of democratic override is fast becoming a booming industry that is costing taxpayers billions, and challenging government decisions and common sense laws all around the world.

Broad opposition to FIPA



The opposition to the Canada-China FIPA is widespread and growing. Through Leadnow.ca and SumOfUs.org's campaigns alone, over 80,000 Canadians have sent messages opposing the FIPA deal to their MPs and party leaders. This community has written hundreds of letters to the editor and funded radio and print ads to challenge Conservative MPs on their home turf. Nearly 20,000 Canadians wrote statements opposing this FIPA to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade when they asked for public comment on their environmental assessment of the investor deal. Thousands have also spoken out against the Canada-China FIPA through campaigns organized by groups like the Council of Canadians, ForestEthics, Avaaz and the David Suzuki Foundation, and spontaneous protests have been organized around the country. 



From First Nations to conservative pundits, opposition to this FIPA is diverse and strong. First Nations leaders from across the country, such as the BC Union of Indian Chiefs and Chiefs of Ontario, have condemned the binding investor deal because it would break constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal rights and title by granting China's companies special extra-constitutional legal rights that could supercede the ability of First Nations to self-govern their territory. Conservative commentators like Diane Frances have also slammed the Harper Conservatives, writing in the Financial Post that "Ottawa capitulated to China on everything" by negotiating an agreement that will give Canadian investors little protection in China, while granting China’s companies the ability to undermine democratic control in Canada. 


 Many expected Prime Minister Harper to pass the Canada-China FIPA on Nov. 1, immediately after a mandatory 21-day waiting period. But the broad-based pressure seems to be having an effect and the treaty is now sitting idle, ready to be ratified at any moment, but with no clear indication of when or if that might happen.

Expert voices in the media



As the days have turned into weeks, a group of FIPA proponents have spread out across Canadian media to laud the benefits of this controversial investor deal and downplay the risks to our democracy and economy while Prime Minister Harper regroups. For Canadians trying to make sense of trade agreements and this FIPA, it is important to understand that there are surprisingly few Canadians with deep expertise on the subject of FIPA agreements and investor-state arbitration, a new and rapidly changing field. Prof. Gus Van Harten is a Canadian expert with international stature who has been sounding the loudest alarm from the beginning. He has never earned income by representing a corporation or working as an arbitrator in an investor state arbitration.

In contrast, in media interviews professor Andrew Newcombe has largely dismissed concerns that the Canada-China FIPA will undermine Canada's democratic control. Prof. Newcombe shares something with many of the FIPA proponents who have been writing op-eds and conducting media interviews over the last few weeks: he has an apparent financial stake in the matter because he has earned income representing corporations in the growing investor-state arbitration industry, and could benefit from that industry's further growth if the Canada-China FIPA is signed. In fact, on his LinkedIn profile, Newcombe lists himself as available for "consulting offers" and "expertise requests" in relation to international arbitration. 



In professor Newcombe's case, he represented (and may still represent) Commerce Corporation in a lawsuit that used the CAFTA investor deal to challenge El Salvador's moratorium on industrial gold mining. Newcombe also provides a private for-profit newsletter service to these firms that charges a premium for commercial firms engaged in this work.



For an even more prominent example, consider Matthew Kronby and Milos Barutciski, a pair of lawyers who have been advocating the Canada-China FIPA with op-eds in The Globe and Mail and Financial Post. These lawyers are partners at Bennett Jones, a firm that proudly offers its investor-state arbitration services to corporate clients who want to sue governments. 



Prior to Bennett Jones, Kronby was the head of the federal government's Trade Law Bureau. He was the government of Canada's lead lawyer on the controversial CETA trade deal with Europe, and left mid-negotiation to take a job in the private sector. Barutciski used to be a lobbyist for Enbridge, the company hoping to build the Northern Gateway oil pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to Kitimat on the B.C. coast.

Canada sued for $250 million via NAFTA



Barutciski's recent actions, on the other hand, have completely undermined one of the most important arguments put forward by the industry insiders of the benefits of FIPA: that corporate lawsuits heard behind closed doors in the Canada-China FIPA's secret tribunals will not undermine Canada's ability to make common sense laws to protect our environment, create good jobs or stop dangerous projects. Barutciski, on behalf of Bennett Jones, is representing U.S. energy company Lone Pine Resources that has just declared that it will use the investor-state arbitration mechanism in NAFTA to sue the Canadian government for $250 million because Quebec put a moratorium to halt shale gas fracking, including Lone Pine's exploration permits, in order to study the health and safety impacts of the increasingly controversial practice. In doing so, Barutciski has powerfully demonstrated that foreign corporations can use these secretive mechanisms to threaten Canadian taxpayers with massive penalties for prudent democratic decisions, even if those decisions, like Quebec's moratorium on fracking, affected both foreign and Canadian corporations.



Investor-state arbitration lawyers have a right to share their views, and we have a right to know where they're coming from. Just like you'd expect a financial analyst to tell you if they owned the stocks that they were trying to sell you, the legal industry that specializes in this area should declare its interest when they comment publicly on an issue of such mammoth common concern.



The upshot is that while opposition to the Canada-China FIPA has spread rapidly, far too many Canadians, including many Members of Parliament, don't really understand the stakes of the Canada-China investor deal. For example, Conservative MPs have responded to the tens of thousands of emails they are receiving from their constituents with a nearly identical set of talking points, likely crafted in the Prime Minister's Office, that reflect the industry insiders' message. In addition, few politicians and pundits have recognized that this looming FIPA dramatically raises the stakes of the CNOOC-Nexen takeover. If the Harper Conservatives approve the $15 billion takeover, CNOOC will be treated as a Canadian company and be able to buy control over more Canadian resources without having to face another test to see if it is of "net benefit" to Canada. If this FIPA passes, CNOOC will then be able to sue Canadian governments in secret tribunals if those governments do anything to counter its growing interests.

Hurtling down an expensive legal road



A new global system is spinning out of control.



One of the biggest problems with the Canada-China FIPA is that it could lock us into this investor-state arbitration system for 31 years, and we have no way of predicting how this system will develop. How will the arbitrators interpret the interests of corporations and responsibilities of governments? How big will the damages be? How often will the threat of a lawsuit stop legislation before it's put in place? Today, investor arbitration is already becoming a big global business, with huge consequences for taxpayers and democratic control.



According to a new report, "Profiting from injustice: How law firms, arbitrators and financiers are fuelling an investment arbitration boom" by the Corporate Europe Observatory and the Transnational Institute, investor arbitration has boomed in recent years, from 38 cases in 1996 to 450 known cases as of last year. And, these are only the known cases -- there are cases that are not public, but we do not know how many. 



A small group of elite firms with for-profit arbitrators and lawyers are getting rich from these deals. Today, legal and arbitration costs average over US$8 million per dispute -- and sometimes exceed US$30 million. Entire legal teams handle cases with elite law firms charging as much as US$1,000 per hour, per lawyer. Arbitrators also earn hefty salaries: as much as US$1 million per case. 



Taxpayers are paying much of the bill for these law firm profits and the awards they are securing for their corporate clients, and we are talking about big money here. A WTO arbitration panel just ordered Ecuador to pay U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum $1.7 billion, and one of China's companies, the Ping An Insurance Group, has launched a lawsuit against Belgium for $2 billion. The growing damages are creating an incentive for investor-state arbitration firms to advise their corporate clients to sue governments for ever larger sums -- and the lawsuits are weakening or preventing laws that would put the public good ahead of narrow corporate interests. 



The report maps an inner network of highly influential firms that it alleges are disproportionately involved personally and financially in these cases and arbitration. The report claims many arbitrators play double or triple roles, alleging that these arbitrators act as counsel, as academics, as government advisors, as lobbyists and as media commentators. The report also alleges that some have strong personal and commercial ties to companies. All this gives these firms huge influence over the debate about the investor arbitration system, which they have a vested interest in sustaining.


Historically, the international investor-state arbitration system was justified and put in place by Western governments to protect corporations' investments from perceived bias and corruption within non-Western national courts. But the report argues that the so called "independent" arbitration system is becoming a self-serving multimillion-dollar industry dominated by a narrow exclusive elite of law firms. When you combine this with the track records of the tribunals and their generous interpretation of "corporate rights," it's time to ask serious questions about the industry's commitment to unbiased judgments and the interests of Canadians. 
Now is the time because this system is being extended to the developed world, led by Canada, right now by the Harper Conservatives.


Finally, and perhaps most troubling of all, the report also describes a new trend in the investment arbitration industry: third-party funding. Investment arbitration is becoming so lucrative that investment funds will actually speculate on cases, lending money to companies so they can sue governments -- and then they'll take a cut of 20 per cent to 50 per cent from the final award.

Nations rejecting investor-state arbitration



Countries are starting to rethink and reject investor-state arbitration, and return to settling disputes through national courts and diplomacy. Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela have terminated several investment treaties and withdrawn from the World Bank International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the main handler for these arbitrations. Argentina refuses to pay arbitration awards. South Africa has just announced that it will neither sign new investment agreements nor renew those that are set to expire.



In April 2011, the Australian government announced it would no longer include investor state dispute settlement provisions in its trade agreements. Specifically, it said it will not negotiate treaty protections "that would confer greater legal rights on foreign businesses than those available to domestic businesses" or that "constrain the ability of Australian governments to make laws on social, environmental and economic matters in circumstances where those laws do not discriminate between domestic and foreign businesses." The Australian Productivity Commission completed a report on investor arbitration that found no compelling economic rationale for including investor-state arbitration mechanisms in its trade and investment agreements, and found few clear benefits along with several worrying risks associated with investor arbitration.



Barring constitutional challenges, if Prime Minister Harper signs the Canada-China FIPA investor agreement he will lock Canada into an investor-state arbitration system that seems to be growing increasingly self-serving -- a network of firms that would have a significant financial interest to court Beijing's business by delivering results for them. We are being told that this is a good idea by people who may have a financial interest in the outcome, and their views are being repeated by Conservative MPs who are simply repeating talking points sent to them by Ottawa. 



The Harper Conservatives are changing the structure of the country without public debate and with a backwards view that ignores the lessons learned by other countries. Just as they expanded mandatory minimum prisons sentences despite Texan Republicans telling them that their "fill-the-prisons" approach to justice had utterly failed in Texas, they are moving Canada towards even more secretive and extreme investor deals. Australia, India, South Africa are all moving to protect their right to make domestic policy by rejecting investor-state arbitration. But in Canada the goal is to lock in Prime Minister Harper's vision for the country as a mass exporter of raw resources. It's hard to get rid of prisons once they're built, and it's hard to get rid of pipelines once they've been rammed through with the threat of secretive billion dollar lawsuits. 



You can't lead a country by keeping it divided and in the dark, and in the cross-partisan opposition to the Canada-China FIPA and CNOOC-Nexen takeover we are seeing fertile soil for a broad rejection of their stealthy agenda.

Chairman Harper, Weak Leader

Recklessly blind to ruthless aims of China's state-owned firms, PM treats them as any free market investors.

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/11/13/Chairman-Harper/

By Andrew Nikiforuk

The Conservative Party (CP) of Canada will likely ratify a promotion and investment treaty (FIPPA) with the Communist Party (CP) of China any day now. It will do so largely to accelerate the production of bitumen. 

Yet China Inc has outplayed and outgunned the Canadian government and its political class. Harper’s Conservatives have not only failed to do their due diligence but betrayed their own basic principles (most claim to support free markets and democracy). They've also sold out ordinary Canadians for the dubious prospects of bitumen expansion.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it's just another trade deal with an emerging economy, and that prosperity hides behind the great dragon's capital investments. But as every Beijing propagandist knows, the best lies are always the biggest ones.

For starters China is not an emerging economy. Nor is it a trading partner like the United States. It is a global economic warrior ruled by one party for 60 years and that totalitarian party is now on an aggressive shopping spree. This is a warrior that avoids the strong and strikes at the weak. And Canada, a nation without firm investment policy or strategy, makes a convenient target.

China's true economic warriors are largely 100 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that practice "authoritarian capitalism." These complex organizations perform for China Inc and dutifully obey the dictates of the Party. They don't care about human rights and aren't shy about dealing with unethical rulers or failing states either. They offer little if any transparency. They don't like unions. They control half of China's GDP and grow in strength everyday. Period.

According to Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs this ugly global dragon has increased investment in Canada by 177 per cent between 2007 and 2010. If this expansion continues, (and FIPPA just opens wide the doors) then Chinese capital controlled by the Communist Party could surpass U.S. investment in Canada by as early as 2017.

 Chinese capital doesn't play by ordinary markets and certainly won't behave like U.S. dollars. Wherever the Chinese SOEs invest, they largely employ Chinese workers. These companies don't tolerate dissent. They say one thing to the public and do another behind closed doors. Nor do they invest in the local community. They work first and foremost for China Inc.

Submitting to the dragon

Now such a dramatic change in capital investment would obviously deliver some dragon-size economic, cultural, political and environmental impacts for Canada. But not according to Harper's gang. Its willingness to ratify such a significant agreement without provincial, aboriginal or parliamentary consultation makes Harper's government look a lot like the Communist Party. China's politburo doesn't allow public debate on their trade agreements.

So let's be clear about the potential scale of Harper's economic treason (and that's what it is) as well as his government's profligate stupidity.

The FIPPA treaty abets and supports investments from a one party state that actively manipulates its currency to provide unfair advantages for its exports. In fact most economists argue that the Chinese yuan (pegged to the U.S. dollar) is undervalued by as much as 20 per cent. Yet Harper approves.
The FIPPA treaty abets and supports a regime that does not entertain democratic rights or the rule of law. In China the state relentlessly silences dissent, picks economic winners and enriches the compliant status quo. And it has operated this way for centuries.

In a blunt 2010 essay the U.S. academic Francis Fukuyama noted that the lawless Chinese state largely directs most of its illegal activities against ordinary people. "Most of the unjust and illegal 'takings' that the Chinese government engages in are against relatively powerless peasants and non-elites, and are done in the name of rapid economic development." But that's the dirty regime Harper's government supports with sticky bitumen handshakes.

Fukuyama also recognized that dealing with an authoritarian dragon comes with uncertain perils. (Note: Why don't we hear University of Alberta's China Institute raising any such alarm bells? Given the institute's pro-trade mantra with SOEs, you'd think they were working for Beijing.)
Fukuyama, a conservative, makes a good point: "We should admit to ourselves that we have very little historical experience with how a rule of law might evolve in a country like China that has not experienced institutional constraints on executive power," he wrote. "And we also do not know how sustainable such an unbalanced, unchecked system will be under the external conditions it will face in the future."

Bizarrely, the FIPPA treaty embraces these perils. China's SOEs include its three large national oil companies: Sinopec, CNOOC and Petro China. Sinopec is larger than ExxonMobil. All three firms have been involved in human rights scandals and environmental abuses abroad as well as deep corruption at home. Yet Harper's ethical oil office can't wait to do business with them.

Complying without a strategy

The Economist, widely considered the world's most credible business magazine, clearly identifies China's SOEs as the greatest obstacles to the rule of law and democratic reform in China. In 2011 the U.S. China Economy and Security Review Commission also concluded that "there is no indication that the CCP was or is aiming to turn China into a bastion of free market capitalism dominated by privately owned entrepreneurial firms, responding to market incentives."

But the imminent ratification of FIPPA without public debate or significant reviews signals that Harper is too eager to pause for strategic reflection.

The Chinese, of course, don't work that way. Unlike Harper they have an energy strategy and its national oil companies spearhead that party-directed strategy. And unlike Canada’s witless Tories they also think 50 to 100 years down the road. As disciples of Sun Tzu, they typically prefer doing business with short-term fools.

Four critical questions Canadians need answered 

Last but not least the Harper government has put the proverbial cart before the horse with FIPPA. Given that China's SOEs behave ruthlessly and have deep ties to the Communist Party, the Canadian government and the Canadian media should be debating four essential public policy questions:

1. Is Canada's antitrust regime equipped to accurately assess the competitive effects of SOE behavior in Canadian markets? 

2. Do existing Canadian laws regulating market activity adequately contemplate an economy in which state-owned or controlled enterprises are major players?

3. Does Canada securities law disclosure regime provide investors with a complete and accurate picture of the ownership and governance of Chinese SOEs?

4. Last but not least, where an investment is made by a state-owned or controlled enterprise, should that entity be characterized as an "investor" for purposes of a FIPPA treaty? (The treaty Harper proposes to ratify wasn’t designed for state-state arbitration but for investor-state arbitration!)
Unlike the Canadian parliament, the U.S. Congress has asked these vital questions. So, too, has U.S. corporate law expert Curtis J. Milhaup.

High fives in Beijing

With the exception of Elizabeth May and one or two New Democrats, Canada's politicians have avoided the salient facts. The silence of Canada's provincial premiers raises even more concerns. In contrast poll after poll shows that the Canadian people, a well of common sense, have raised profound concerns about SOEs investing in Canada.

No FIPPA critic has asked Canada not to trade to China. But they (and everyone from Diane Francis to Gus Van Harten) and the Canadian public have asked for democratic representation instead of total capitulation and strategic policy instead of a dumb economic sell-out.

A government that approves a treaty with the world's second most powerful economic warrior without understanding the enemy's full intent is, and I will say it again, engaging in economic treason.

In Beijing party cadres no doubt are now gloating. They have found a weak leader in Canada who sells without negotiating, governs without consulting and rules without thinking.
Given FIPPA's imminent approval, China's State-Owned Enterprises appear to have won a victory without even fighting a battle in Canada.  And all thanks to Chairman Harper.