Alberta and BC Governments Announce TILMA 'deals' in both provinces

[Stop TILMA!]

Friends,

Two summer, Friday news releases from the Alberta and BC governments
announcing TILMA standard agreements made with municipal councils, and
more.

I hope that you will all call your municipal councils and ask if they
knew the UBCM was negotiating away their local autonomy on their/our
behalf.

Carleen

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News Release
July 25, 2008

TILMA set to expand to schools, hospitals and municipalities

Edmonton... Alberta and British Columbia have taken a major step
toward full implementation of the Trade, Investment and Labour
Mobility Agreement (TILMA), agreeing to special provisions that will
extend the agreement to municipalities, academic institutions, school
boards and the health sector (MASH).

Starting April 1, 2009, the MASH sector will open up procurement
opportunities, beginning at $75,000 for goods and services tenders and
$200,000 for construction projects. This represents a further opening
of tendering contracts from current rules governed through the pan-
Canadian Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).

Participation of the MASH sector is critical for Alberta and B.C. to
fully realize the benefits of the TILMA” said Ron Stevens, Deputy
Premier and Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations.
“Increased competition for purchasing contracts means our hospitals,
schools, colleges, universities and municipal governments will be able
to get the best possible price for the goods and services they need."

When Alberta and B.C. signed the TILMA in 2006, both governments
agreed to a two-year transition period so each province could consult
with its MASH sector before extending coverage under the TILMA. In
2007, Alberta held province-wide consultations with more than 200 MASH
sector representatives and associations and continued discussions with
these groups until an agreement was reached.

“We are pleased to have been involved in the consultation process on
TILMA and to have had the opportunity to bring the concerns of our
membership forward. We believe the revisions that came out of this
collaborative process better meet the needs of local government and we
hope that other provisions will follow suit,” said Don Johnson,
president of the Alberta Association of Municipal

Districts and Counties.

The special MASH provisions also include an exemption for non-
discriminatory municipal land-use bylaws.


“The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association is now satisfied that
municipal concerns which the Association raised on behalf of its
members have been addressed in the negotiation process regarding the
MASH provisions,” says AUMA President Lloyd Bertschi.

Between now and April 2009, the TILMA will be amended to incorporate
the new MASH provisions. Alberta will work closely with MASH
stakeholders to assist with the transition and implementation of the
new provisions. For further details on the special provisions for the
MASH sector, please visit www.tilma.ca.

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The following document has been posted to the Government of Alberta
website to view this document online and/or additional information/
backgrounder http://www.alberta.ca//acn/200807/240705B13BB33-062F-8D43-CBD86A2E3A31BDEB.html

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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 25, 2008

AGREEMENT WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REACHED ON TILMA

VICTORIA – Technology, Trade and Economic Development Minister Ida
Chong announced that the
Province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) have
signed a joint letter of
agreement formalizing the results of consultations with respect to the
Trade, Investment and Labour
Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between British Columbia and Alberta. The
TILMA will apply to local
governments on April 1, 2009.

“Since last September, the provincial government has been consulting
with the UBCM to
address concerns raised by local governments with respect to the
TILMA,” said Chong. “Thanks to
much goodwill, we have agreed to certain additional provisions that
reflect specific interests of British
Columbia’s 189 local governments while ensuring that the full benefits
of TILMA are realized through
greater economic opportunities and competitively priced goods and
services for British Columbians.”
Signed in April 2006, the TILMA came into force on April 1, 2007. It
will take full effect on
April 1, 2009.

“Over the past nine months, we have worked with the Province and
agreed on a package of
amendments to the TILMA that we feel goes a long way toward addressing
the issues identified by
B.C. local governments,” said UBCM president Susan Gimse.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• Land-use measures (e.g., zoning decisions) are excluded from the
TILMA, provided they
treat residents from British Columbia and Alberta the same.
• Procurement threshold levels for municipalities under the TILMA will
be $75,000 for
goods and services and $200,000 for construction (takes effect April
1, 2009). These levels
also apply to academic institutions, school boards, and health and
social service providers.
• Under the TILMA, the reconciliation of local government business
licensing processes
between B.C. and Alberta municipalities will be voluntary.
• A Consultation Agreement on Dispute Resolution will be drafted. It
will require the
Province to consult with any B.C. local government and the UBCM if a
local government
measure is ever the subject of a dispute resolution challenge under
TILMA.
The TILMA strives to reduce and eliminate barriers to the free
movement of people, goods,
services and investments between British Columbia and Alberta.
Canada’s most comprehensive interprovincial
trade agreement, the TILMA creates a market of almost 7.8 million
people – the nation’s
second largest economy.

More information on TILMA is available at www.tilma.ca and on the
Ministry of Technology,
Trade and Economic Development’s website at www.gov.bc.ca/ecdev.
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