There's been much talk about Canadian wanting Canada to impose a human-rights clause in any trade deal we sign with certain countries, but that forces Canada to make a choice between its moral position and its economic interests. How can Canada best find the balance between these competing concerns?
One idea I could see would be for Canada to invite all jurisdictions that adhere to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to form an ICCPR-compliant trading block. Many jurisdictions adhere to the ICCPR (in fact, the ICCPR forms Hong Kong's Basic Law) while others like Canada adhere to at least the vast majority of its provisions (though the separate school system in the Canadian constitution is a notable violation among others).
Should all ICCPR-compliant jurisdictions gather to form an international free-trade block, then Canada could probably at least acquire an observer status as a state that almost meets its provisions. This could then allow Canada to negotiate trade deals with the block as a whole rather than with individual jurisdictions through consecutive bilateral negotiations that would take forever. While this could result in the trade block imposing some light penalties on Canada and apply pressure on Canada to also become ICCPR-compliant, it would at least allow Canada to much more efficiently negotiate trade agreements with respecters of human rights and so reduce the pressure on Canada to seek trade agreements with mainland China.
One idea I could see would be for Canada to invite all jurisdictions that adhere to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to form an ICCPR-compliant trading block. Many jurisdictions adhere to the ICCPR (in fact, the ICCPR forms Hong Kong's Basic Law) while others like Canada adhere to at least the vast majority of its provisions (though the separate school system in the Canadian constitution is a notable violation among others).
Should all ICCPR-compliant jurisdictions gather to form an international free-trade block, then Canada could probably at least acquire an observer status as a state that almost meets its provisions. This could then allow Canada to negotiate trade deals with the block as a whole rather than with individual jurisdictions through consecutive bilateral negotiations that would take forever. While this could result in the trade block imposing some light penalties on Canada and apply pressure on Canada to also become ICCPR-compliant, it would at least allow Canada to much more efficiently negotiate trade agreements with respecters of human rights and so reduce the pressure on Canada to seek trade agreements with mainland China.
