New Democrats make one last-ditched effort to stop FIPPA trade deal with China

The Harper government has signed on the dotted line but the NDP is still fighting the battle.

The Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) is front and centre in the House of Commons, on Thursday, the NDP introduced a motion urging the government to inform China that it will not ratify the agreement in its current form.

[ Related: Canadians see a land of opportunity in China ]

Critics of the controversial agreement, signed by the government last September, say that the deal hasn't been debated in the House, that it's not reciprocal and that it would allow Chinese companies to buyout Canada's natural resource sectors.

The most controversial issue, however, seems to be a provision in the treaty that would allow Chinese companies to sue Canadian governments — in front of a third-party arbitrator — if the government does anything that threatens the company's profits.

Left-leaning organizations, such as Leadnow and the Council of Canadians, are asking the public to contact their MPs to encourage them to vote with the NDP.

"The NDP are holding a vote in Parliament that could stop FIPA," Leadnow says on their website.

"There are deep divisions inside the Conservative benches, and if we create a massive public outcry right now we have a chance to stop this terrible trade deal for good."

Greg Kanargelidis, a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) and an expert in international trade, says that while Canada has signed the deal, it has not been ratified.

"The FIPPA has not yet been formally implemented," he told Yahoo! Canada News.

"The actual effective date is typically mutually arranged by both parties once the respective ratification processes have been satisfied."

So, maybe the NDP has a chance to kill the deal?

With a large Conservative majority, that what probably require some heavenly intervention.

[ Related: Canada's trade deficit rises to $1.02 billion in February ]

So, far at the Leadnow website, the "massive public outcry" includes 18,204 names on a petition.

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

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