Correcting the democratic deficit in the CETA negotiations: Civil society engagement in the provinces, municipalities, and Europe
| Author | Stuart Trew |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702013509313 |
| Subject Matter | Policy Briefs |
International Journal
68(4) 568–575
!The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702013509313
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Policy Brief
Correcting the
democratic deficit in the
CETA negotiations:
Civil society engagement
in the provinces,
municipalities, and
Europe
Stuart Trew
Council of Canadians, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Abstract
The federal government claims that the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and
Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations have been the most transparent and participa-
tory in Canadian history. Labour, environmental, social justice, and other civil society
groups that are critical of the proposed agreement for various reasons would argue that
their perspectives have been excluded from the official federal dialogue. This article
looks at some of the efforts of non-governmental (civil society) actors, and in particular
the Trade Justice Network and its member organizations, to affect the CETA negoti-
ations in other ways, with an emphasis on contact with provincial governments, muni-
cipalities, European decision makers, and other non-governmental groups in Canada and
Europe. It is argued that the exclusion of critical views shows an inherent democratic
deficit in the CETA negotiations that privileges corporate insiders at the expense of civil
society, the public, and even elected officials. Notwithstanding this deficit, the success of
the civil society campaigns can be seen in the problem areas delaying a successful
conclusion of negotiations, including new public procurement restrictions for
Canadian municipalities and pharmaceutical patent term extensions. For the Trade
Justice Network, these areas also help explain how the agreement narrows the fields
of economic, environmental, and social governance in Canada.
Keywords
Trade, justice, procurement, patents, civil society, municipalities, European Union,
labour, ENGO, governance, corporate lobby, TJN
Corresponding author:
Stuart Trew, Council of Canadians, 70–170 Laurier Ave W, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5, Canada.
Email: stu.trew@gmail.com
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