The Conservatives Must Pledge To Repeal Harper’s Disastrous FIPA Deal With China

The deal lets Communist China sue Canada in international courts.

Andrew Scheer has been clear in his rejection of ‘free trade’ with China, taking a stand that Justin Trudeau has been unwilling to take.

However, with China’s continued mistreatment and disrespect towards Canadians – and with the world waking up to how the Communist State is a growing threat – the Conservatives need to go even further.

During their time in power, the Harper Conservatives signed a so-called Foreign Investment Protection Agreement with China – a deal that is disastrous for Canada.

Here’s why it’s so bad:

The deal lets the Communist State secretly challenge Canadian laws in an international court, and if Canada loses in that international court there’s nothing we can do about it.

There was no public debate or real discussion in Parliament about the deal – and many Conservative backbench MPs were deeply disturbed by it.

When Canada loses lawsuits brought by China, that info can be kept hidden from the public under the terms of the FIPA deal.

The deal lets Chinese citizens who own even a minority stake in a Canadian company sue Canada under the FIPA international courts.

The deal locked Canada in for 15 years, and even if it was cancelled, China would get protections under the deal for another 15 years. Of course, since the Communist State regularly unilaterally breaks trade rules, Canada could announce our unilateral cancellation of the agreement.

As law professor Gus Van Harten said about it, Canada is more exposed to potential ‘claims and corresponding constraints’ than China is under FIPA.

The deal was a total sellout of Canadian sovereignty, and never should have been signed. It give Canada’s power over to the Communist State and international courts, which is something that the Canadian People must always stand against.

When Harper first became PM, he was tough on China, saying Canada wouldn’t ‘sell-out our values’ for the ‘almighty dollar.’

Unfortunately, under pressure from the elitist political and corporate class – along with pressure from the Liberals – Harper caved and ended up signing the FIPA deal. It was a huge mistake.

So, to truly be tough on China, and to show an understanding of past failures, the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer must pledge to repeal the FIPA deal with China immediately upon taking office.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – YouTube