| Is there a single product you use that you’d be happy to pay 5,000% more for? What if it was for something your life depended on?
When American ‘pharmabro’ Martin Shkreli used medicine patent laws last year to raise the price of Daraprim — a drug used to treat parasitic infections in AIDS patients — from $13.50 to $750 per pill, the outrage went international.1 What does this have to do with the web? The TPP’s Intellectual Property laws, which threaten everything from the open Internet to art and medicine, are setting Canadians up for this kind of outrageous exploitation.2 But we have a huge opportunity to change this right now. There are less than 48 hours left to take part in a crucial government consultation that could decide whether or not Canada agrees to the TPP. Make your voice heard now with our handy tool. You probably already know that the TPP would censor the web and erode your democratic rights. But this example shows just how much influence unaccountable lobbyists had in negotiating the TPP. It’s pretty clear: allowing Canadians to be price-gouged for medicines that are often the only treatment to some diseases has zero benefit for ordinary people, but huge potential big business profits. That’s why all sorts of huge companies lobbied hard for the TPP. Meanwhile, ordinary Canadians like you and me weren’t even consulted. Until now. The government has finally given us a real consultation on the TPP. And you can let them know exactly where you stand with our new tool. It’s so crucial for us to speak up together. If we don’t, it will be all too easy for the government to ram this deal through without your consent. And when you make your comment, it goes straight to your MP as well, so you can let them know exactly where you stand. An amazing 23,156 OpenMedia supporters have already sent their messages, but your name is still missing. Can you take 60 seconds right now to add your voice? Thanks for everything that you do. Victoria at OpenMedia P.S. There’s no time to delay – the consultation closes at 11:59 pm EDT on Monday October 31st. Let’s show them we won’t be ignored. Have your say at LetsTalkTPP.ca. Footnotes [1] CEO: 5,000-percent drug price hike “not excessive at all”. Source: CBS News |
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It shouldnt be a mystery as to why governments push for “trade deals”.
If my corporation wants to build widgets I could open in Canada. Taxes, property and a work force will be the major costs.
If I build my factory in some poverty stricken third world s–t hole my taxes and wages and capital costs will all be far cheaper. Ill need a “trade deal” so I can sell my widgets in North America at a price that will make me very very wealthy. Ill need a “trade deal”. But the people in Canada are catching on and realize that they cant buy my widgets because they dont have a job. Dont worry the government has opened its boarders to allow workers from the third world s–t holes to migrate to Canada . These immigrants will ‘create wealth” and fill our huge unskilled labor shortage. READ these workers will drive wages in Canada lower so that sooner or later I will be able to make my widgets just as cheap in Canada as I could in the third world.
The trade deal make us all equal Sadly we drag our standard of living DOWN to the level of a third world s–t hole. Drive out to Delta Port and look at the work force. Long Shoremen make a good wage. Take note of the work force and remember what you see so that 20 years from now when the ILWU is paying rates that are no longer a good wage you will know why.
13, my almost six decades of life experience, along with formal economics training to boot, I can pretty well say that you nailed it.
Economic growth at even-to or less than population increase (read: Immigration), with increases in costs and resource use means that per person, Canadians are NOT getting better off over time.
I heard one social justice advocate on the radio talk about how she is a champion for immigration and affordable housing. Let’s do some math. 300,000 plus immigrants per year in Canada. BC gets one-tenth. 30,000. Lets say 2/3rds move to Vancouver. 20,000 K per year, slightly less than 2000 per month. Where are they going to live? What is their numbers doing to housing prices and rental prices? Yup.
So, to that immigration and affordable housing advocate: “How can you be so ef**ing stupid?”.
13 nailed it. The only potential positive news on the horizon is Trump. Canadians are among the biggest sheeple on the planet. Trudeau will flood the country with immigrants and future LiIberal voters. The onslaught will drive down wages and drive up living costs. Combined with Trudeau putting us further into hock with “infrastructure” projects the future looks grim. Never mind the aging population and the cash cow of oil resources drying up.