Filmed in Canada, the United States and Mexico over a three-year period, this provocative documentary immerses itself in the stark reality of life before, during and after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It takes an incisive look at the profound effects that economic agreements between big business and government can have on human lives, including increased cuts to social programs, massive unemployment, environmental damage, and demoralization.

After examining the situation in Canada, the film follows a delegation of workers to Mexico to see where some of their jobs have gone. They find the lawns in front of industrial plants greened by sprinklers, while some Mexican workers live in cardboard shacks without running water. It's a revealing and emotional experience for the Canadians, and for the viewers of this thought-provoking film.

The Emperor's New Clothes poses a powerful, sobering question: In this global war of cut-rate economies, are people on the losing side?
 

Direction
Magnus Isacsson

Production
Jacques Vallée, Iolande Cadrin-Rossignol

With the Participation of
Roy L. Heenan, Raymond Gélinas, Jeff Swogger, Wayne Hardwick, Pierre Bellerive, Tereza Martinez, Aaron Fish, Claude Morand, Len Harrison, Patricia Fraser, Dennis Harley, Salvador Fuentes, Elisabeth Macias, Claude Bolduc

Script and Text
Mary Ellen Davis, Manon Hogue, Guy Beausoleil, Magnus Isacsson

Images
Barry Perles, Jean-Pierre Lachapelle

Editing
France Pilon

Music
René Lussier

Sound
Alain Sauvé, Marie-France Delagrave, Shelley Craig,  Serge Boivin, Esther Auger

Voice and Narration
Harry Standjofski

Production
National Film Board of Canada