Metro Vancouver hears UBCM update on TILMA: Concern raised that provincial government not listening to municipalities

[Stop TILMA!]

All,

On Thursday February 21st, 2008, Metro Vancouver's Intergovernmental
Committee received an update from the Union of British Columbia
Municipalities (UBCM) on the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility
Agreement (TILMA) negotiations.

The presentation to twelve councilors from the Lower Mainland was by
UBCM director Gary MacIssac and associate director Marie Crawford. The
discussions were limited as the directors were bound by a
confidentiality agreement. During the question period there were
several criticisms raised about the need for secrecy in a negotiation
process that will greatly affect Metro Vancouver.

The UBCM representatives followed areas covered in the convention
policy paper as a guideline. You can see that paper here:
http://ubcm.fileprosite.com/content/pdfstorage/27AAEEDD1DD24622AF85112E23EBD8A4-PolicyPaper4_TILMA.pdf

Marie Crawford started the update by explaining their mandate and
stated that "the province is not withdrawing from the TILMA agreement,
nor is it going to exempt local governments." One councilor stressed
that those options should still be on the table as the membership did
not instruct the negotiators to automatically dismiss those portions
of the resolution.

Before negotiations with the province began, the UBCM met with the two
Alberta municipal associations to talk about common areas of concerns.
Local government representatives in BC and Alberta have had two
meetings with the provincial representatives. They met in November,
February and they will meet again in early March. The UBCM is then
hoping to release joint interpretations of the agreement to members.

*Procurement*

Over the past few months, the UBCM consulted with a number of local
governments to get hard numbers on the impact of procurement changes.
The example highlighted by Gary MacIsaac was that Metro Vancouver had
184 formal competitive bids in one year (for procurement under $100
000), but under TILMA that the number would increase to 866. The UBCM
director explained that they are making the case that the
administrative costs for local governments will far outweigh any
supposed trade benefits.

In discussing procurement, the UBCM representative explained that this
aspect of TILMA is simply an extension of the Agreement on Internal
Trade. This follows the provincial government's position on TILMA.
When the AIT came into effect in 1995 it was so controversial that it
was rejected by several provinces. For example, British Columbia
didn't comply with several of the stipulations, and as a result the
AIT is viewed as a largely voluntary agreement. One councilor pointed
out at the Metro Vancouver meeting: "We didn't fight the AIT because
it had no enforceability." Further, there are no nor monetary awards
given to successful complainants under the AIT. The "No Obstacles"
clause in the AIT does not apply to investment, unlike the far-
reaching language in TILMA.

*Subsides*

We also heard at this meeting that the UBCM has dropped negotiating on
the issue of subsides. However, the policy paper's original position
is that the "UBCM request that the TILMA be amended to exempt any
municipal assistance to, subsidization of, or incentive to a
business..." The UBCM director explained that Alberta gives out far more
subsides than BC and that this was more of an issue for their
municipalities. Since Alberta representative associations were not
making it a concern at the negotiating table, BC has eliminated it.

In relation to this, Burnaby Mayor Derrick Corrigan reminded the UBCM
representatives that "what Alberta says and what their municipal
government's say is of interest but not determinative of any of the
issues in relation these municipalities and our provincial
government."

*Non-discrimination and buy local policies*

The UBCM director explained that one of the most significant issues
for municipalities under TILMA how 'green' initiatives such as "Buy
Local" procurement policies will be affected. Mayor Harold Steves
echoed this concern by asking how TILMA would affect Richmond's award
winning local procurement policy.

The UBCM director stated that local preference is considered a barrier
under TILMA. The UBCM representatives both repeated the provincial
government's claim that there may be exceptions for environmental
measures under the legitimate objectives clause of TILMA.

However, a local government would have to demonstrate to the dispute
panel that they are pursuing one of the few objectives that TILMA
defines as legitimate. Further they would need to prove that the
measure is not merely restrictive but necessary to achieve the
objective; and that one is not disguising a restriction to trade,
investment or labour mobility. TILMA's Article 6 says that all three
requirements have to be met in order for governments to justify their
measures. It really isn't enough for a local government to just claim
that a buy local measure is in pursuit of a legitimate objective.
Further, in six cases brought to the AIT, governments have lost each
time in attempting to prove that what they were doing was necessary.

UBCM director Gary MacIsaac explained that the provincial government
is using a local procurement strategy for new Olympics buildings. He
asked: "I think that the broad question has to be answered...Is one arm
of the government under TILMA contradicting a public policy objective
with another arm?"

*Dispute Resolution Process*

The UBCM director stated that he had some clarification on the process
for municipalities under the private court system set up under TILMA.
If BC is found to be in violation of TILMA based on something a local
government does, the province of BC will come back and "instruct or
allow" the local government to change their measure. If the local
government chooses not to amend the measure as requested by the
province, the province would then be in contradiction. Based on a
ruling the province will be levied up to a $5 million fine under
TILMA. He stated that he was still unable to answer who would cover
that fine and how.

After the presentation Burnaby Mayor Derrick Corrigan expressed
frustration with the report cautioning a dangerous move away from Don
Lidstone's analysis of the Agreement. "Your approach seems very
conciliatory and not nearly as adamant as the motion would have
expected. To be absolutely candid I feel like you are an apologist for
the government's position as opposed to the lead negotiator for a very
strong position that was taken by municipalities."


Please take action!
If you are concerned about TILMA and the impact the agreement will
have on your community...

- Let your local council know about this meeting;
- Talk to your local council about communicating with the UBCM and
request and update on TILMA negotiations;
- Request that your council reiterate the demands of the UBCM
resolution.

Please contact stop...@gmail.com if you would like the full
transcript of this meeting.