Unifor joins Lets Talk TPP, members encouraged to participate

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Unifor is joining with other unions and progressive groups to get Canadians talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, and the threats it poses for this country.

“The TPP isn’t about free trade. It’s about giving companies getting more rights and limiting the rights of governments to pass the laws we need,” Unifor National President Jerry Dias said.

“We are pleased to be joining with other progressive groups to make Canadians more aware of the risks posed by the TPP.”

Letstalktpp.ca is a web site being supported by several groups – including Unifor, the Council of Canadians, several environmental groups, fair trade groups and other unions – to give ordinary Canadians a chance to comment on the TPP.

On the site, people can fill in a simple form, write their comments and send them directly to Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland and the Commons trade committee.

Dias encouraged Unifor members to go to the site and send their concerns to Freeland and the Committee. With the TPP negotiated in secrecy, with little input from Canadians, people need an opportunity such as this to make their concerns heard, he said.

“Canadians know a bad deal when they see it, and the TPP is a bad deal,” Dias said.

Unifor’s support for Letstalktpp.ca is one part of a larger TPP campaign to be launched by Unifor in the coming weeks, said Roland Kiehne, Unifor Director of Membership Mobilization and Political Action.

“Our concerns with the TPP cut across many sectors of our union and the economy. It should not be ratified in its current form,” Kiehne said.