Bush 'Slush Fund,' Courtesy of Canada

Softwood deal pours $450 million straight into White House, says U.S. lawyer.

On August 21 in Ottawa, the Standing Committee on International Trade heard a U.S. trade lawyer damn the proposed softwood lumber agreement as a terrible deal for Canadians. Elliot J. Feldman of Baker & Hostetler LLP argued that Canada caved at a moment of strength, given that international rulings continued to land firmly on our side. Instead, Feldman argued, this deal will kill the NAFTA process which has favoured Canada's position, and forfeit at least a billion dollars plus hundreds of millions of dollars more in interest that would have come our way had our negotiators hung tough.

Feldman, who is based in Washington, D.C., offered one more bit of startling analysis, excerpted below. The deal, he said, will funnel nearly half a billion dollars directly to George Bush's White House, creating a political "slush fund" available to the Republicans and the U.S. timber industry for waging future campaigns.

Originally reported here 6/28/06

Outline of how this affects Canadian workers, and what the Bush team has done