Panama and Canada (from IKN54)

IKN54 out yesterday had 12,170 words (and some of them were correctly spelled, too). Here as a sample are 290 of them that talked about last week's Free Trade Agreement signed between Panama and Canada and the possible trade that miners will be doing there soon.

Panama’s Free Trade Agreement with Canada

Last week a ceremony that went largely unnoticed by the wider business community took place when host nation Canada and the visiting Panamanian delegation signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to open up business channels between the two nations (10). The FTA is not yet active law, as it requires approval by the parliaments of both countries before it is enacted. But assuming this happens, tax and levies on trade between Canada and Panama will be reduced by 90% in most cases, including that of mining and mine equipment. After the signing ceremony at a meeting put on by the Canadian business community, Panama’s Minister of Commerce said (translated quote) that the arrival “...of Canadian investment in Panama will grow in an explosive manner” because “....(Panama) has also decided to develop a serious mining policy and Canada is the world’s miner.” He went on to say, “I believe that Canada will also benefit from the enormous amount of public sector investment we have, and with this FTA will have investment advantages. We are talking about $13.6Bn without taking into account the canal expansion program.”

The ministers present said that they expected their respective parliaments to ratify the FTA before the end of the year. Members of the Canadian delegation also noted that in difference to the FTA negotiated between Canada and Colombia that hasn’t managed to be ratified in Canada’s parliament due to human rights issues in Colombia, Panama has a relatively clean record and this will not be an issue to hold up passage. So yet again, the world business community surprises us by noting that unlawfully killing people can in fact cause problems to national governments..there’s hope left in capitalism after all :-).

My new hero nation: Canada

Canada is my new hero country....wild no?

My stereotype-ingrained-pigeonholed opinion about Canada being a quiet, relaxed, unassuming, uncontroversial, agreeable...and plain boring country has been blown out the water by those sneaky conniving Canuck types and their Machiavellian political plotting. YAY!

"So what they gone done, Otto?" I hear you cry. Well, remember back to this photo-op on November 21st?

That Harper dude stood next to Alvaro Uribe of Colombia and watched the lackeys sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Old Alvaro was pleased as punch, of course, and called upon the USA to get on and sign their own FTA with his country and stop moaning and whining about petty things like gov't sponsored paramilitary death squads, phone tappings, kidnappings, extrajudical murders carried out with the approval of ministers...y'know, trifles like that.

But then on April 28th Canada's parliament debated and decided on a few other things. Then yesterday via a press conference in Colombia, Canada delivered a very, but VERY large portion of egg to the face of Uribe when it emerged via a pro-Uribe senator that "a few extra details" must be taken into consideration before the FTA could be ratified. Including:

• A joint body to study environmental impact in Colombia (big deal)

• Compliance with labour laws (natch)

• More work done to combat crime (dunno how they'll measure that one)

• A study of the number of people made homeless by the ongoing civil conflict (oh...now we're getting warmed up)

• The government of President Alvaro Uribe must demonstrate a friendlier and more constructive relationship with Human Rights organizations in the country. ZING!!!!!!!!!

Oh how I ROFLed when I read that one. Y'see Prez Uribe classes Human Rights dudes in Colombia as the mouthpieces of terrorists, refuses even the most recognized organizations their permits, chases their personnel out of the country and drowns out their reports of institutionalized killings (there are 22,000 people being investigated in as disappeared in Colombia right now....and no that's not a typo.....twenty-two thousand) by unending ad-hom attacks on the people delivering the message.

And now Canada says "Dude...you don't get your FTA if you don't STFU"...wonderful. What a bunch of subversive bastards you are, frosties. Ah loves you all.