Informal essay on the NAFTA essays

Informal essay on the NAFTA essays January 1, 1994 was supposed to be the start of a new economical era for Canada, Mexico and the United States of America. Together, the three nations agreed to lower tariffs on all imported goods and to trade openly with one-another. This agreement was a continuation of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Untied States that was ushered in by Prime Minister Brain Malrony, and President Ronald Regan. When Free Trade started between the U.S. and Canada there was much controversy surrounding the effects on Canadians, but the North American Free Trade Agreement did not receive the same public or media attention. Six years after the signing of NAFTA many Canadians are wondering how NAFTA has effected the Country, and what part Mexico and the U.S. played in, what has transpired. Eastern Canada is the heart of industry in this country, and perhaps the most likely to profit from any economic growth, ironically the opposite has happened. Since NAFTA this country has lost over 4000 manufacturing jobs, has the highest unemployment rate of all industrialized countries and the trend seems to be increasing (Bassai). With the promise of wealth and prosperity many highly paid and highly trained workers were told by politicians that as long as they produced quality goods that their jobs were not threaten. This reassurance of job security was a lie. Companies such as Inglis, Molson, General Electric, Caterpillar, General Motors and Ford have uprooted their Canadian based factories, some of which had the highest quality standards in the industry. Many of these company employees feel not only abandoned by their employer, but by the federal government of Canada who promised economical growth. In 1991 Caterpillar shut down in Ontario, this shut down left 380 workers unemployed. By 1993 only 50 % of those 380 workers found employment. This reflects that in the auto industry one of every four workers is ether on UI or Welfare. The ...