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Canada Favours Early Release of ACTA Text (Geist)

By Robin Gross

"While the U.S. claims that ACTA documents are a matter of national security and the European Parliament demands greater transparency, it would appear that the Canadian delegation would favour an early release of the draft treaty. According to a confidential November 2008 memorandum that was prepared for Stockwell Day, the Minister of International Trade obtained under the Access to Information Act: At the upcoming meeting in December 2008, given its commitment to transparency in international trade negotiations, the Canadian delegation plans to argue for a transparent approach. . . This approach would result in an earlier release of the text, which would serve to alleviate domestic concerns about the scope of the agreement and the perceived secrecy surrounding the process. The draft text could then serve as the basis for broad-based public consultations. Should there be no consensus among the ACTA partners to make the ACTA text public, the Department will need to develop options to address Canadian stakeholders concerns about the lack of transparency in the ACTA process....

Full post as published by IP Justice on March 14, 2009 (boomark / email).