May, 02 2017, 11:45am EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Trade Justice Network: Nadia Ibrahim
1(204) 803-8133, nadia.k.ibrahim@gmail.com
OpenMedia: David Christopher
1(888)441-2640 ext. 0, david@openmedia.org
Council of Canadians: Dylan Penner, Media Officer
1(613)795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org
Back from the Grave -- Secret TPP Talks to Resume in Toronto
As Toronto hosts two days of high-level TPP talks in an undisclosed location, civil society groups warn that TPP cannot be the basis for Canada's future trade relationships
TORONTO
High level negotiators from 11 countries are meeting in Toronto in an attempt to resuscitate the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership. The meetings will take place behind closed doors at an undisclosed location on May 2 and 3. The proposed mega-trade deal appeared to be dead after public pressure prompted the U.S. to withdraw from the pact.
The TPP sparked strong public opposition in all 12 countries. In part the criticism of the deal which could have covered 40% of the world's trade was that it was negotiated entirely in secret and without public input. But as details of the deal began to leak out, opinion polls in most of the participating countries tracked growing public opposition.
The renewed talks have sparked protests from the Trade Justice Network and other civil society groups who warn that because the TPP was created without citizen input, it cannot be the basis for Canada's future trade relationships with Asia-Pacific nations. The groups say it's absurd and undemocratic for the federal government to host secret talks at a secret location on a deal that will dramatically impact the lives of Canadians.
"The TPP is only marginally about trade. It is about harmonizing standards and regulations across countries and strengthening the rights of corporations at the expense of citizens, workers, the public at large, and the environment. The costs of ratifying the TPP far outweigh any small benefit that may be gained. We urge the Trudeau government to stand up for Canadians and against the Trans-Pacific Partnership," said Larry Brown, Co-Chair of the Trade Justice Network and President of the National Union of Public and General Employees.
"Deals like the TPP never truly die. Their destructive nature - killing jobs and the environment - lives on in other forms," said Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. "Even without the U.S., other countries are trying to revive the dubious legacy of the TPP. It's time they got the message: People are tired of these agreements, and we must do better."
"TPP was a bad deal then, and it's a bad deal now," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. "We were told we had to be in the TPP because the U.S. was in it. Now, the U.S. is out. Why would we revive a trade deal that was so bad for Canadian workers and communities? The federal government has not even completed its review of the last TPP deal. Canadians have said they do not want the TPP. The government does not have a mandate to bring this bad deal back to life."
"The TPP is an unfair and undemocratic deal that was negotiated behind closed doors without any meaningful public participation," said David Christopher, communications manager with OpenMedia. "Such a flawed and unpopular deal cannot be the basis for Canada's future trade relationships. Instead of hosting secret talks to resurrect the TPP behind closed doors, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and ensure any future trade deal is shaped by citizens every step of the way."
"Trump's election should have triggered alarm bells in Ottawa about the dangers of pursuing trade agreements that promote corporate interests at the expense of the public's. The Leadnow community is shocked that the government is discussing how to resuscitate the TPP - a dangerous, costly, and lopsided agreement that the public widely rejects," said Brittany Smith, campaigner at Leadnow.
The recently published Let's Talk TPPreport, crowdsourced from nearly 28,000 Canadians, found that the most common reason for opposing the TPP was the failure of the federal government to consult with the public during TPP negotiations. Canadians also highlighted concerns around digital rights, corporate overreach, democratic accountability, healthcare and public services, the environment, labour issues, and the economy as reasons they opposed the deal.
The TPP has been criticized as a transfer of power from democratically elected national governments to multinational corporations that would result in higher drug prices, a dumbing down of national environmental and health regulations and would give corporations special rights to sue national governments without having to go through the established court system.
The TPP has also been condemned by respected citizens groups including the Sierra Club, Doctors Without Borders, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Internet advocacy watchdog OpenMedia, and even Canadian business tycoon Jim Balsillie and the Canadian head of the Ford Motor Company.
Canadians can tell the government to pull out of any future TPP talks here and can send a copy of the Let's Talk TPP report to their MP at LetsTalkTPP.ca
About the Trade Justice Network
The Trade Justice Network is a network comprised of environmental, civil society, cultural, farming, labour and social justice organizations that aims to raise awareness about free trade agreements and their implications. We seek to highlight the need for a more sustainable, equitable and socially just international trade regime.
About OpenMedia
OpenMedia works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free. We create community-driven campaigns to engage, educate, and empower people to safeguard the Internet.
Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada's leading social action organization, mobilizing a network of 60 chapters across the country.
Office: (613) 233-4487, ext. 249LATEST NEWS
Climate Researcher Threatened With Termination for Taking a Stand Against Flying
"I am prepared to pay this price, if it helps raising awareness among the public and the societal leadership on the desperate situation we are in," said Giancarlo Grimalda.
Oct 02, 2023
A climate researcher based in Kiel, Germany said Monday that he was prepared to lose his job at a globalization think tank, after his employer gave him an ultimatum and demanded he go against his climate-based objection to aviation travel in order to return to his place of work—a requirement at least one critic said was rooted in retaliation for the scientist's activism.
Gianluca Grimalda has been working on a field assignment in Papua New Guinea for the past six months, studying the relationship between globalization, climate change, and social cohesion for his employer, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW). He traveled to Papua New Guinea without the use of airplanes and has planned to get back to Germany the same way, boarding cargo ships, ferries, trains, and coaches to avoid 3.6 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Grimalda was originally scheduled to be finished with his work on September 10, but said in an essay on Monday that he received permission from the head of his department to remain in Papua New Guinea after wrapping up the project and noted that he is able to complete his work while traveling.
Nevertheless, on Friday the president of IfW informed Grimalda that he was required to be back in Kiel on Monday, which would require him to board a plane—a demand that he said ignores the climate impact of aviation travel and the effects already being felt by communities across the globe, including in Papua New Guinea.
"Traveling by plane would produce around four tons of carbon dioxide—the greenhouse gas responsible for global warming," wrote Grimalda. "In my outbound journey, I limited my emission to two tons by traveling over land and sea for 35 days over 16,0000 of the 22,000 kilometers. In my inbound journey I plan to cover the entire distance without catching a plane, which would limit carbon dioxide emissions to 400 kilograms—ten times less than traveling by plane."
By resolving to carry out his "slow-travel" plans instead of flying back to Kiel, Grimalda said he is risking his job.
"I know that most people would swallow the bitter pill, take a plane, and go ahead with their work—both as a professional and as an activist," wrote Grimalda. "With this job, I have enough economic stability and spare time to pursue environmental causes. Nevertheless, I believe that we have reached the point where instrumental rationality is no longer applicable. The most recent scientific evidence says that we have transgressed six out of nine planetary boundaries and that several ecosystems are close to collapse (or likely past their point of collapse) because of temperature rise—in turn caused by greenhouse gases emissions."
Grimalda acknowledged that his individual refusal to support the airline industry is no match for the continued emissions of the sector as well as fossil fuel giants, industrial farming, and other corporate actors.
"My decision not to catch a plane will mean close to nothing for the protection of the environment," he wrote. "'That plane will fly even if you have not boarded it,' many people have already told me. This is true, but giving less money to the aviation industry may mean fewer planes in the future. In any case, all the science I know, all the evidence I see, point to the fact that we are in [an] emergency. In [an] emergency, extraordinary actions should be taken. That is why, with enormous sadness, I have decided not to take a plane and face all the consequences this will lead to."
"I am prepared to pay this price, if it helps raising awareness among the public and the societal leadership on the desperate situation we are in," Grimalda added. "It is my act of love to the current and future generations, to the animal species under threat of extinction, to the idea of humanity that I instinctively and undeservedly abide by."
Grimalda and direct action group Scientist Rebellion went public with the researcher's dilemma on the same day the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in the U.S. released a report on private jet travel out of Laurence G. Hanscom Field near Boston, the largest private aviation field in New England.
Constrasting with Grimalda's commitment to reduce his support for carbon-intensive activities, IPS found that over 18 months, private jet owners and operators were responsible for an estimated 106,676 tons of carbon emissions, with half of those flights used for recreational or luxury travel. More than 40% of the flights were less than an hour long.
Climate groups in the area are currently pushing to ensure developers don't expand Hanscom in order to avoid even more planet-destroying emissions.
Grimalda told Scientist Rebellion that IfW has withheld his pay for the month of September without notice.
Julia Steinberger, a lead author of the latest report by the International Panel on Climate Change—which reiterated that "human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gasses, have unequivocally caused global warming" and warned that "approximately 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change"—said it was "extraordinary that a research institute threatens to dismiss a researcher for doing his job too diligently and for avoiding flying during a climate emergency."
She added that she believes IfW aims to "retaliate for Gianluca's past participation in civil disobedience on climate change with Scientist Rebellion."
Grimalda has taken part in actions such as a blockade of the entrance of a biofuel refinery controlled by Eni, Italy's energy company.
The researcher expressed hope that his latest action "will sound yet another alarm bell to the ears of an inactive political leadership."
"As a scientist, I feel I have the moral responsibility to be proactive in sounding such alarms," Grimalda wrote. "It is true that thus far hundreds, if not thousands, of protests have all but gone unheard and have changed very little. Nevertheless, 'social tipping points' have existed for much progressive social change and things have changed rapidly for the good after a critical mass of support has been garnered."
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Nobel Prize for mRNA Researchers Shows Power of Public Funding for Vaccines, Campaigners Say
"Public funding delivers incredible medical advances and that should be a priority for all countries, but pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted to share technology with the world."
Oct 02, 2023
Scientists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for research that paved the way for the messenger RNA vaccines against Covid-19—critical work that, as campaigners quickly pointed out, benefited from substantial U.S. government funding.
Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni, policy co-lead for the People's Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement that "this award challenges the claim that it was solely big pharmaceutical companies who saved the world from Covid-19."
"Just like the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Karikó and Weissman's groundbreaking work on mRNA vaccines received a huge amount of public funding," said Kamal-Yanni. "Pharmaceutical companies have refused to share mRNA technologies with developers and researchers in developing countries."
The Nobel Prize committee credited Karikó and Weissman with fundamentally changing "our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system."
"The laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times," the committee said.
As The Washington Postsummarized, the pair "discovered how to chemically tweak messenger RNA, turning basic biology into a technology ready to change the world when the pandemic struck. Their discovery is incorporated into the coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, which have now been given billions of times."
But the Post and other major outlets covering Karikó and Weissman's Nobel prize-winning contributions did not emphasize—or even mention—that some of the scientists' work was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Karikó and Weissman patented their findings in 2006 and later licensed the patents to Moderna and BioNTech, Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine partner.
According to an analysis by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Weissman "appears as the principal investigator on a total of 42 projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1998 and 2020, representing $18,323,060 in costs."
"Karikó was the principal investigator of four projects funded by the NIH between 2007 and 2011, totaling $1,234,462 in costs," KEI observed. "In other words, the United States government funded and has certain rights over at least some of the foundational Karikó and Weissman patents directed to mRNA discoveries."
"As governments discuss how to prepare for the next pandemic, they should learn from the story of mRNA."
Throughout the pandemic and into the present, vaccine makers such as Pfizer and Moderna have opposed global calls to share their vaccine recipes and technology with the world, fiercely clinging to their monopoly control over production and using that control to force governments into one-sided contracts favorable to the pharmaceutical industry—even though their vaccines were developed with massive public support.
A
study published in The BMJ earlier this year estimated that the U.S. government pumped nearly $32 billion into the development, production, and purchase of mRNA coronavirus vaccines.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has declined to use its ownership of key patents or the leverage provided by public funding to force pharmaceutical companies to do everything they can to ensure the equitable distribution of lifesaving vaccine technology.
Kamal-Yanni of the People's Vaccine Alliance said Monday that "fortunately, Weissman is helping a WHO-backed mRNA program which aims to develop mRNA technology in lower-income countries, even while pharmaceutical companies refuse to share their know-how."
"As governments discuss how to prepare for the next pandemic, they should learn from the story of mRNA," said Kamal-Yanni. "Public funding delivers incredible medical advances and that should be a priority for all countries, but pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted to share technology with the world."
Peter Maybarduk, director of the Access to Medicines program at Public Citizen, echoed that message, saying in a statement that "today's Nobel must ring as a call for equity and health justice, and a call to change a massively unjust pharmaceutical industry."
"Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech still largely control the available vaccines and in some countries have significantly increased their price, despite the billions in public funding on which the vaccines rely," said Maybarduk. "By supporting initiatives to share science and technology, and by funding vaccine infrastructure, governments can help blunt the effects of disease, and bring a coda of justice to a terribly unjust time."
This story has been updated to include a statement from Public Citizen.
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Defying Calls to Appoint Barbara Lee, Newsom Chooses Laphonza Butler to Fill Feinstein's Seat
Butler previously served as the head of a major SEIU local. But she also represented Uber as it fought efforts to classify drivers as employees.
Oct 02, 2023
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced late Sunday that he will appoint Laphonza Butler, president of the Democratic Party-aligned reproductive rights group
EMILY's List, to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of long-serving Sen. Dianne Feinstein last week.
Newsom's selection rebuffs calls from progressives and some Democratic lawmakers—including the head of the Congressional Black Caucus—to nominate Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to fill the vacancy. Lee is one of three prominent Democrats running for Feinstein's seat in 2024.
Feinstein had planned to step down at the end of her term in January 2025.
Newsom pledged to fill any early vacancy with a Black woman, but he signaled last month that it would not be Lee, who is running against Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
"I don't want to get involved in the primary," Newsom told NBC, stressing that his selection would be an interim pick. "It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off. That primary is just a matter of months away. I don't want to tip the balance of that."
In a statement late Sunday, Newsom said that "as we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for—reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence—have never been under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington, D.C."
"An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President [Kamala] Harris," Newsom added, "Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she'll represent us proudly in the United States Senate."
Shortly following news of the governor's decision, journalists
noticed that EMILY's List removed the final line of Butler's bio that said she lives in Maryland with her partner and daughter. Newsom's office confirmed to California reporter Ashley Zavala that Butler moved to the Washington, D.C. area for her role at EMILY's List but owns a home in California, and will reregister to vote in the state before she is sworn in.
Prior to her stint at EMILY's List, which works to elect pro-choice Democrats, Butler served as president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2015, the nation's largest home care and nursing home workers union.
But CalMattersnoted Sunday that "despite her previous career, organized labor is likely to split on Butler."
"Many felt betrayed when she represented Uber in 2019 as the company tried to broker a deal that would avoid classifying their drivers as employees," the outlet reported.
Butler also worked as director of public policy for Airbnb.
Politicoreported that "Newsom is making his appointment without putting limitations or preconditions on his pick running for the seat in 2024. That means Butler could decide to join the sprawling and competitive field of Democratic contenders seeking to succeed Feinstein, with special elections now layered on top of the March primary and November runoff."
In a letter to Newsom earlier Sunday, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) urged Newsom to appoint Lee to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat, arguing that her "unparalleled legislative record, longstanding leadership in the Democratic Party, and deep commitment to justice and equality cannot be equaled."
"Barbara Lee has diagnosed a sickness in this country: greed," Horsford wrote. "And, as a former mental health professional, she has a solution: eradicate poverty, exterminate corporate welfare, and end austerity for working families. She is the only person with the courage, vision, and record to eradicate poverty, face down the fossil fuel industry, defend our democracy, and tirelessly advance the progressive agenda."
Lee, for her part, wrote in a social media post that she looks forward to working with Butler to "deliver for the Golden State."
"I am singularly focused on winning my campaign for Senate," Lee wrote. "CA deserves an experienced senator who will deliver on progressive priorities. That's exactly what I'm running to do."
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