Stephen Harper and CETA or Why Let Facts Get In The Way Of Ideology

You would think embarking on negotiations towards perhaps the most sweeping trade deal this country has ever entered into, you would want to conduct some studies into it's impact on Canadians.If you're an ideologue like Harper, apparently not. Two years and eight rounds into the process our government still hasn't bothered to commission a single study of CETA's potential impacts.

Actually there is a study out there that our government is relying on,only one problem though,it was commissioned by the EU. That's right a study brought to us by the folks on the opposing side of the negotiating table. Thankfully there is a Canadian study that our government could refer to.The only problem for them is that unlike the EU study it doesn't rely on false assumptions like full employment and every penny of Canadians savings being invested inside Canada,therefore it's conclusions don't support Harpers ideology and his precious trade deal with the EU

If you're a bit of a wonk like I am here is the Jim Stanford's study Out of Equilibrium done for the CCPA or if you actually have a life and still wish to review Out of Equilibrium, Alison over at Creekside has posted  two short videos of a presentation by Jim Stanford.