OTTAWA, ONTARIO and MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Oct. 14, 2011) - Canadian, Quebec-based and European civil society organizations will be in Ottawa next week for a CETA Week of Action timed to coincide with a 9th round of closed-door Canada-European Union free trade negotiations. The groups will launch the week's events at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 17 by bringing a 14-foot-tall wooden Trojan horse to Parliament Hill.

The Week of Action on CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) is organized by the Trade Justice Network and the Réseau québécois sur l'intégration continentale (RQIC) with cooperation from the European Seattle to Brussels network. Events include:

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: TROJAN HORSE DELIVERY TO PARLIAMENT HILL, Monday, October 17, 9 am, Outside the gates of Parliament Hill: The 14-foot-tall wooden Trojan horse symbolizes the hidden implications of the proposed agreement on social policy and democracy in both Canada and the EU. Canadian, Quebec-based and European critics of the Canada-EU trade deal will be on hand to make short statements and answer questions.

PUBLIC DIALOGUE ON CETA WITH MPS, Tuesday October 18, 3:30 pm, Ottawa Public Library (120 Metcalfe Street at Laurier Avenue West): NDP trade critic Robert Chisholm, Liberal trade critic Wayne Easter, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Bloc trade critic André Bellavance will discuss and debate their respective parties' position on CETA. Several Conservative MPs and Senators were invited to present the government position but said they could not make the event. We are awaiting replies from two Conservative members of the trade committee. This is a free event with simultaneous translation services provided. Co-sponsors: the School of International Development and Global Studies – University of Ottawa and the Institute of Political Economy - Carleton Unviersity.

CETA PUBLIC FORUM: OUR COMMUNITIES ARE NOT FOR SALE, Wednesday, October 19, 7 pm, Saint Paul's University Auditorium, 203 Guigues Hall (223 Main Street, near Clegg Street): Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, Paul Moist, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and Frédéric Viale, spokesperson for Attac France and the Seattle to Brussels network, will discuss the impacts that CETA will have on public services and social policy in Canada and the EU. This is a free event with simultaneous translation services provided.