http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/mark-warner/tpp-trade-critics_b_9134630.html
Mark Warner from Huntington Post has recently criticized Jim Bastille for being against TPP because of implications of TPP on intellectual property in Canada. Jim Bastille believes that TPP will hurt innovation in Canada because Canada will become subjected to American-style intellectual property laws. Mark Warner Argues that Changes to intellectual property from TPP would be minimal if TPP gets ratified in Canada, and that most of TPP is a good deal for Canada so we should not let a few negative changes to intellectual Property prevent us from ratifying TPP.
Mark Warner said that criticism of TPP has been ‘convincingly’ countered by intellectual property lawyers that said TPP would have only a minimal influence on Canadian intellectual property laws. My question for Mark Warner is who’s side are intellectual property lawyers on? I would assume that intellectual property lawyers would support corporate interests. Now if the intellectual property lawyers that Warner referred to supported Canadian corporate interests then they may side with Bastille. It is possible that the intellectual property lawyers were working for American Corporations. If that is the case then it would be likely that they would downplay implications of TPP on Canadian intellectual property law.
Warner also suggests that Canada is better off using a few intellectual property changes to use as a bargaining chip to get what Canada wants. He makes it sound like that TPP is still getting created. The truth is that TPP is already written up and Canada signed it. How can Canada use intellectual property changes as bargaining chip to put what Canada wants in TPP if TPP has already been long past the drafting stage? Is TPP able to get amended, Warner has made no indication of this. Is Warner suggesting that Canada may have used small changes to Canadian intellectual property law as a bargaining chip during the drafting stage? If this is true then why has Warner not provided evidence backing this claim up?
Warner needs evidence to back his claims up. My gut feeling is to trust Jim Bastille’s worries about TPP. Business men tend to be self-interested so if Jim Bastille is worried about TPP hurting the Canadian economy I will believe him. Free Trade Agreements tend to benefit American corporate interests anyways.