Great Threat to First Nations Treaties and Canada's Future

Amazingly few North Americans are aware of FIPA, but it’s a long-planned piece of the Harper strategy to make it impossible to fight expansion of the tar sands, or any other Canadian resource project. Under FIPA, Chinese “investors” (i.e., state-owned Chinese corporations) would be able to sue for unlimited damages, in a secret court, for anything that negatively affects their projected future profits. That’s not an exaggeration – that’s what the treaty says. That means provinces, groups; citizens could all be sued for fighting (say) any resource project that Canadian companies have invested in. Once ratified, this international treaty will be in place for a minimum of 31 years, regardless of any future change in government.

The Hupacasath First Nation, a tiny band on Vancouver Island, has stepped forward to delay ratification and force the Harper government to consult with First Nations, but their legal bills are gigantic, and they desperately need to raise money, which is the purpose of this video. They are days away from having to shut down their case. Note that this is NOT a partisan issue – many Conservatives oppose FIPA, because it basically sells off control of Canada’s resources to a foreign country – and it is not a partisan video. For more information and to assist please go to http://www.westandtogether.ca/ !