Colombia Deal Done Before Human Rights Study Complete

[Judi Lynn]

Embassy, June 11th, 2008
NEWS STORY

Colombia Deal Done Before Human Rights Study Complete
The controversial deal includes a $15-million fund the Colombian government will have to pay into for labour violations, including union member killings.
By Michelle Collins

The Conservative government unexpectedly announced on Saturday the conclusion of negotiations for a controversial free trade agreement with Colombia, even before a wide-ranging study on the implications a deal would have on human rights in the country was complete.

The announcement surprised observers and parliamentarians, including Commons' members of the trade committee who were due to complete their two-month long study this week.

The committee has invited numerous witnesses to appear before it and discuss the agreement, specifically its human rights and environmental implications. It also travelled to Colombia's capital, Bogotá, last month to observe the situation first-hand.

On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed the notion the government jumbled its own priorities on human rights by moving ahead before the committee report was complete.

"I think there'd been a desire to conclude it for some time and the minister had sought my final sign-off in the last few days," Mr. Harper said. "I've made very clear, and our government has made very clear, our desire to sign a free trade agreement with Colombia, and to include in that agreement obviously measures related to the environment and labour."

Negotiations for a free trade agreement with Colombia began in July 2007 and have been met with fierce opposition in both Canada and the United States from critics who are concerned about Colombia's human rights, labour and environmental standards.

Similar concerns have been voiced about the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, ratification of which has ground to a standstill in Congress after Democrats refused to fast-track it.

Opposition critics in Canada have accused Mr. Harper of co-ordinating foreign policy with U.S. President George W. Bush. They note Mr. Harper is using the same justification for a Canada-Colombia deal as the American president has for the U.S.-Colombia deal. In addition, the Canadian prime minister has been prodding American congressional representatives to approve the U.S. deal.

More:
http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2008/june/11/columbia_deal/