Ontario nurses say no to TILMA-like agreements

[Stop TILMA!]

All,

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) launched a
campaign last week to draw attention to TILMA. The Association wants
to ensure that future trade agreements such as the one Ontario is
negotiating with Quebec does not promote privatization. In an open
letter send to Premier Dalton McGuinty they explain that: "detailed
analysis of TILMA shows that it is likely to water down health, safety
and employment standards to the lowest common denominator and will
support further privatization and deregulation."

The Association demands that Ontario not enter into "any agreement,
inter-provincial, pan-Canadian, or international, that includes an
investor-state lawsuit mechanism, or any other mechanism that empowers
profits to overcome the pursuit of public interest".

You can see this open letter here:
http://www.rnao.org/Storage/36/3105_RNAO_letter_McGuinty_inter-provincial_agreements.pdf

The Association is sending letters of concern to the premier. To sign
this letter go here: http://www.rnao.org/Page.asp?PageID=924&ContentID=2314

If you have contacts in Ontario, please send them to this action alert
and support the nurses' demands.

Best,
Caelie



Nurses urge caution about inter-provincial trade agreements
Feb. 25, 2008

TORONTO, Feb. 25 /CNW/ - The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario
(RNAO) is warning the province of Ontario against negotiating trade
agreements that water down health, safety and labour standards.

Today, the association released a copy of a letter it sent to Premier
Dalton McGuinty urging his government to reject the Trade, Investment
and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) and to ensure that future trade
agreements such as the one Ontario is negotiating with Quebec do not
contain trade practices that promote privatization and take aim
against Medicare and measures to protect peoples' health.

"British Colombia and Alberta have signed onto TILMA and there is
pressure for Ontario to sign on as well," says RNAO President Mary
Ferguson-Pare. "This agreement is potentially devastating because it's
being promoted as a harmless effort to reduce inter-provincial trade
barriers when it's really a means to harmonize health, safety and
employment standards to their lowest common denominator. Quite simply,
TILMA could be read as a corporate bill of rights," adds Ferguson-
Pare.

RNAO Executive Director Doris Grinspun says it also could threaten
Medicare and other social programs because "it has the potential of
allowing private interests to sue governments for any measures that
restrict profit-making. If Ontario were to join TILMA or similar
agreements, it could mean pesticide companies in other provinces might
be able to sue jurisdictions in Ontario that have passed pesticide by-
laws."

"Nurses are concerned about this and we believe citizens should be
too. We encourage people in Ontario to learn more about the
implications of these kinds of trade agreements and to write to
Premier McGuinty about their concerns," adds Grinspun.

Members of the public can read RNAO's open letter to the premier and
learn more about the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement
(TILMA) by visiting www.rnao.org.

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the
professional association representing registered nurses wherever they
practise in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has lobbied for healthy public
policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses'
contribution to shaping the health-care system, and influenced
decisions that affect nurses and the public they serve.