From a Giant Jumbotron to a Giant Banner, Vancouver TPP hearing attendees won’t be able to ignore feedback from Canadians

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Input from over 35,000 Canadians to be featured on big screen and on a 20-foot banner, as Parliamentary Trade Committee hosts hearings in Vancouver about the controversial deal

WHAT:

Canadians have a lot to say about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and now there’s a new way to ensure they can’t be ignored. OpenMedia, Leadnow, and Sum of Us are placing a giant (16’ x 9’) Jumbotron beaming feedback and input from everyday Canadians outside key TPP hearings taking place in Vancouver on Monday. The groups will also display the names of 170,000 Canadians who have taken action against TPP on a 20-foot banner.

The Jumbotron will stream messages, images, memes, and short videos submitted by Canadians, including by the over 14,000 people who have sent feedback to the Parliamentary Committee studying the deal using the online tools at LetsTalkTPP.ca and ParlonsDuPTP.ca. Representatives from OpenMedia, and a range of other organizations will also be speaking at the hearings. 135 members of the general public requested to speak at these hearings. All of them were rejected, making the actions happening outside the hearings even more important.

WHEN:

Date: Monday, April 18, 2016

Time: 8.30am Pacific Time

WHERE:

The Jumbotron will be located opposite the TPP hearings taking place in the Radisson airport hotel. 8181 Cambie Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 3X9, Canada

QUOTES

“Lobbyists are swarming Parliament Hill to try to ram through this unfair, undemocratic deal that will strip us of our digital rights and threaten the open Internet,” said Meghan Sali, communications specialist with OpenMedia. “Thousands of Canadians want to make their voice heard, and by streaming their messages on this massive Jumbotron we can make sure that Canadians’ voices are literally impossible for the politicians to ignore.”

"The TPP is a dangerous, costly, and lopsided deal that serves the interests of multinational corporations and the super wealthy, leaving everyday Canadians in the dust," said Brittany Smith, Campaigner at Leadnow. "If the TPP is truly an 'agreement', then we're here to show decision-makers that the public - including the 170,000+ people who have taken action against it - is saying "we don't agree".
 

WHY

Federal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland has pledged to consult Canadians widely about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — and Canadians are taking her up on that promise. Although Canada recently signed the TPP, the government emphasized that “signing does not equal ratifying”, and promised“a robust and transparent examination”.

As part of its study of the deal, Parliament’s Standing Committee on International Trade is undertaking a nationwide series of hearings, starting Monday in Vancouver.

A wide range of experts and organizations have raised concerns about the TPP, including:

• It will restrict how we innovate and share culture, and it will overwrite our national laws without our consent. (source)

• Copyright term extensions will cost Canadians money, and actually make it harder for artists and creators to make new works. (source)

• Foreign companies could sue the Canadian government for implementing regulations that would protect the environment. (source)

• An independent study concluded that Canada will lose at least 58,000 jobs because of the TPP. The government has yet to publish an independent economic analysis of how exactly the TPP would impact Canadians (source)

Under the TPP, Canadians will pay more for pharmaceuticals, while seeing their healthcare privacy undermined. (source)