APEC Essay Research Paper The question is

APEC Essay, Research Paper

The question is “Can the Canadian government maintain its committment to globisation without comprimising its stand on human rights and why or why not.” The answer is no. Canada’s committment to globalization comprimises it’s stands on human rights for different reasons. The main reason being APEC. The following paper will ague just that and how Apec is causing many problems in societies all over the world.

APEC is a grouping of 18 “economies” which aims to impose a “free trade” zone in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite the rhetoric, there is nothing free about “free trade.” It is the forced changing of rules to benefit corporations at the expense of people, governments and the environment. As Joan Spero, the US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs said, “APEC has a customer. APEC is not for governments, it is for business. Through APEC we aim to get government out of the way, opening the way for business to do business.”

The Termination of our Social Safety Net

In theinternational market, there are cut backs made on employment insurance, welfare, education and health care are they are made under the excuse of luring investment. Any word of increasing taxes is extinguished by corporations forewarning to withdraw for a “preferable” business environment. Regardless of the skyrocketing profits, corporate contributions to tax revenues have plumetted from 50% in the 60’s, to less than 8% today. It is suspected that it’ll be sooner then later that Canada will adopt the impoverished American model – no safety net, just cold concrete.

APEC has nagative effects on the Environment

APEC and “Free trade” agreements like it, reduces international environmental standards by making the process of moving between states easier for businesses. In order for there to be compition, countries are obliged to slacken their environmental regulations to the lowest they can be by law. Canadian mining industries, which have been know as some of the bigest global polluterson the planet, have been abusing trade agreements like APEC by transfering to countries where they may operate without being disrupted by environmental protection. “Free trade” has already granted a ghastly amount of power to businesses, permitting them to effect government policy.

The Corrotion of Human Rights

Secretary of State (Asia Pacific), Raymond Chan, expresses our governments position, affirming that “discussion of human rights and social development might impede progress on economic and trade issues.” We give praise to and give special treatment to mass murderers such as Jiang Zemin of China andGeneral Suharto of Indonesia, when APEC pays a visit. Jiang Zemin was compliant in the Tiananmen square massacre, referring to it as “much ado about nothing,” and was liable for the heavy crackdown that ensued. Suharto is accountable (among other things) for the appeals from dissidents in both countries, Canada withholds their position on human rights and refuses to take a stand against it’s abuses. (1)

In order to save their reputation, Canadian government puts through “constructive engagement”. Constructive Engagement is a policy that allows the people of Canada to believe that the Canadian goverenmet is concerned with human rights, when in reality, it is business that they are really conscened with. Constructive engagement, for Canada, means voting againast or abstaining from every UN resolution condemning Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor. However, we persist in the selling of weapon parts to the Indonesian military. Ultimately, “Constructive engagement” means we have a fatal fall back from life or death issues. (2)

We should perhaps examine what’s happening on our own territory, in addition to giving support to dissidents overseas. Canada and the US are recongized as profesionals in the area of maltreatment of native peoples.

There’s no democracy in APEC

Although it’s only been sice 1989 that APEC has been around, most people have probably only heard about it recently due to it’s arrival in Vancouver. This is not surprising as APEC functions through closed door meetings of politicians, big business representatives, bureaucrats, and academics. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), is the only institutional presence in APEC, that is not apart of the government. ABAC is made up of CEOs. Those who are affected most by APEC’s policies have no say in APEC deliberations and policies. APEC does not function in isolation unlike some other organizations. Fundamental resolutions about our lives are made on an every day basis by economists and bureaucrats that represent establishments such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the Director General of the WTO, Renato Rugiero,”We are writing the constitution of a single global economy.” (1) Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and other treaties like it termed “a bill of rights for investors,” are secretly being drafted. These issues will transform the way society lives dramatically and there are no public debates on these issues. (1)

APEC Cultivates a Society of Consumption

Many trade agreements including APEC don’t just concentrate on commodities, they are all for turning our existence into a commodity