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<title> MARCHI INVITES CANADIANS, HEMISPHERE TO EXPRESS VIEWS ON THE FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS</title>
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<p><font face="Arial"></font><font face="Arial" size="+1"></font><font face="Arial" size="+1">November 5, 1998 <em> (11:00 a.m. EST) </em> No. 256</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1"> MARCHI INVITES CANADIANS, HEMISPHERE TO EXPRESS VIEWS ON THE FREE
TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"></font><font face="Arial">International Trade Minister Sergio Marchi announced today that citizens of countries involved in Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations are invited to submit their views on the FTAA to a special committee
set up to receive input from civil society.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">"The FTAA is a historic project that will affect all our citizens," said Minister Marchi. "This process gives
Canadians and other citizens of the hemisphere an added voice in the negotiations, and will help build
confidence in our efforts to liberalize trade in the hemisphere and beyond. It's therefore fitting that we reach out
to our citizens and hear about their views and aspirations."</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Canada was instrumental in the establishment of the FTAA Committee of Government Representatives on the
Participation of Civil Society at the last meeting of the hemisphere's trade ministers in San José, Costa Rica, in
March 1998. The Committee will receive views from a wide cross-section of society -- business, labour,
environmental and academic groups -- on how the trade-related aspects of the FTAA should evolve.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The Committee is open to receive written submissions from members of the public beginning on November 1,
1998. The Committee's official invitation lays out specific procedures for these submissions and provides
deadlines. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The Committee also expects that submissions from civil society should focus on trade matters as outlined in the
San José Ministerial Declaration. The Declaration is available on the Department's official Web site (www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca) under the "Trade Agreements/Multilateral Regional Trade Agreements and Organizations"
heading.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The Committee's work complements Canada's domestic plans to consult its citizens on the FTAA and other
major initiatives. In order to consider submissions before the 1999 FTAA trade ministerial meeting, the
Committee has set a deadline of the end of </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">March 1999. The Committee will continue to consider the views of the hemisphere's citizens, however,
throughout negotiations on the FTAA.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">- 30 -</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The Committee's official invitation is attached.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">For further information, media representatives may contact:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Leslie Swartman</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Office of the Minister for International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">(613) 992-7332</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">(613) 995-1874</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">OPEN INVITATION TO CIVIL SOCIETY IN FTAA </font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1">PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES</font><font face="Arial"></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">1. Recognizing the interests and concerns expressed relating to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by
different sectors of society, and consistent with the principle of transparency in the FTAA negotiating process,
Ministers Responsible for Trade of the Hemisphere, as agreed in the San José Ministerial Declaration, noted the
contribution of "business and other sectors of production, labour, environmental, and academic groups", and
encouraged "these and other sectors of civil societies to present their views on trade matters in a constructive
manner." For this purpose, they established a Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation
of Civil Society with the objective of receiving, analyzing and presenting the range of views of civil society for
their consideration.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">2. The Committee extends an invitation to civil society to submit their views, as of November 1, 1998, in writing,
by mail, fax, electronic mail or courier service.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">3. Each submission will:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"> identify the person and/or organization, with their address, presenting the point of view;</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"> refer to trade matters related to the FTAA process, using the San José Ministerial Declaration as the frame of
reference; </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"> be in concise written form, in one of the official FTAA languages (Spanish, English, French, Portuguese);</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"> contain an executive summary of not more than two pages, including reference to the trade matters it refers to
and the way the views contribute to the FTAA process, as stipulated in the San José Ministerial Declaration.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"> be sent directly to the Chairman of the Committee of Government Representatives on Civil Society
Participation, at the following address:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">c/o Tripartite Committee (Ref. Civil Society)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">1825 K St. NW, Suite 1120</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Washington, D.C. 20006</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Fax: (202) 296-0826</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">E-Mail: eclac@tmn.com</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">4. The deadline for the receipt of submissions is <strong>March 31, 1999</strong>, in preparation for the Ministerial meeting in
October 1999 in Canada.</font></p>
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