"Dangerous loopholes" in trade pacts threaten funding of non-profit services.OTTAWA -- International trade agreements, such as NAFTA NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world's and GATS GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GATS Great American Trucking Show GATS Gifted and Talented Students GATS Global Automotive Telematics Standard GATS GPS Aided Target System GATS Gyro Accelerometer Test Set GATS General Access Time Slot , contain "dangerous loopholes" that could threaten government support for non-profit social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales despite federal government assurances to the contrary says a recently released report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is a union-supported left-wing policy research institute in Canada. It concentrates on economic policy, international trade, and social policy. It is especially known for publishing an alternative federal budget on an annual basis. and the Canadian Council Canadian Council may refer to: In aviation:
When Worlds Collide: Implications of International Trade and Investment Agreements for Non Profit Social Services, a report prepared by Canadian Labour Congress Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Nationwide association of labour unions in Canada. The CLC was formed in 1956 by the merger of the Canadian counterparts to the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which merged in the same year (see Senior Economist Andrew Jackson and CCPA CCPA Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (think tank) CCPA Canadian Chemical Producers' Association CCPA Consumer Credit Protection Act CCPA Canadian College of Performing Arts (Victoria, Canada) Research Associate Matt Sanger, says safeguards for the non-profit sector tend to apply only to sectors which do not include any for-profit actors. However, this is not the case in Canada where "for-profit delivery and private-public partnerships proliferate" in heath care and other social service sectors. The report notes that the not-for-profit sector includes thousands of social agencies which operate at arms length from the state, but are funded and supported by governments to help meet social needs. These include such services as child care and elder care services, residential and community-based services, and services to persons with special needs like people with disabilities and women fleeing abusive relationships. Jackson, who says "the problem is that U.S. and other transnational corporations see social services as a new world of opportunities for profit, and trade rules as the means to gain entry," warns that trade tribunals could side with corporations and rule that public measures to support non-profit services unfairly inhibit the ability of commercial firms to establish operations in Canada. "Cultural support measures and postal delivery, which the government thought were protected, turned out to be open to challenge under international trade agreements--why shouldn't social services be next?" asked Sanger who noted that the report recommends the federal government maintain, clarify and strengthen current reservations and exclusions for social policy to "ensure these two worlds do not collide and domestic social policy priorities take precedence." Link to this report, go to www.communityaction.ca |
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