Saturday, November 10, 2012 Canada, The Road To Facism(chapters 11-12-13) Written by Robin Mathews The Biggest Sell-Out. Brian Mulroney and the Move To Free Trade (Pages 140-156) In 1985 Brian Mulroney announced in the House of Commons the intention of his government to negotiate free trade with the U.S.A. The process was long. It took until October, 1988 to complete. The process was dirty . Extravagant and false claims were made for the effect it would have. In the last days of the "free trade election" a flood of money poured into the campaign as the key region of southern Ontario was flooded with advertising and propaganda which -- it was said -- bought the outcome for Mulroney. Still, in that election more Canadians voted for parties opposed to free trade than for the Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney. The agreement reached and those which followed it are dense in fabrication, complex in structure. But the reason for the move to free trade and the effect it has on Canada are very, very simple. From 1981 until 1985 the U.S. ambassador to Canada was Paul H. Robinson, Jr. Like his government in Washington, he didn't approve of the moves Canada made towards economic and political independence. Near the end of the Trudeau government (1983-84), Robinson attempted to loosen Canadian attitudes and, as he claims, gain from Canadians a willingness to consider sectoral free trade -- which is not what we think of when we use the phrase free trade .