For Canada to consider a TPP without the U.S. would require a total overhaul of the deal and extensive citizen participation

As Canada confirms its participation in next month’s trade talks in Chile, Canadians are still waiting on the results from the government’s TPP consultations

February 10, 2017– Yesterday International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne confirmed Canada will be attending“post-TPP talks” to be held in Chile next month. Although the date of the meeting is yet to be confirmed, invitations have been issued to Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations to come together in order to decide whether and how to move forward with the pact now that the U.S. has formally withdrawn.

Since March 2016, Canadians have been sharing their views with the government on the TPP, through a formal process initiated by the Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) and informal meetings with Global Affairs Canada. The official consultation closed on January 31, and Canadians are still awaiting a report to be tabled in the House of Commons. Over 27,000 Canadians submitted feedback to the government through LetsTalkTPP.ca

Responding to the development, OpenMedia communications specialist Meghan Sali said:

“If the Canadian government intends to pursue the TPP without the U.S., it will have to go back to the drawing board and re-negotiate from the ground up, this time with genuine citizen engagement in the process. The digital policy and Internet governance provisions Canada agreed to in the TPP were little more than a wish-list from large media conglomerates in the U.S. — Canada would be foolish to continue to press forward with them in the U.S.’s absence.”

Sali continued: “We have yet to see the results of the government’s consultations, but we’ve been hearing from Canadians for years that they are deeply unsatisfied with the extreme secrecy with which the TPP was negotiated. With citizens shut out of the debate, it’s no wonder that the policies that we see advanced in the agreement are to the detriment of Internet users, artists, and innovators. The government must learn from its mistakes in negotiating the TPP, and open any future negotiations to input from Canadians.”

Canadians are continuing to share their views with the International Trade Minister and Members of Parliament at LetsTalkTPP.ca