Saskatchewan government confirms province will stay out of TILMA

[Stop TILMA!]

All,

Saskatchewan's Minister of Enterprise and Innovation has ruled out
signing TILMA in its current form. This statement follows up the
province's previous rejection of the pact in August 2007 under a
different government. The Minister stated that the province would want
to see protection for crown corporations incorporated into any
modifications of TILMA. In writing about the aims of Saskatchewan's
Crown Corporations, Jim Grieshaber Otto has argued: "Signing TILMA
would signal the beginning of the end of Crown corporations as rock-
solid instruments of public policy in the province." To read more on
the effect TILMA could have on Saskatchewan Crown Corps see Jim
Grieshaber-Otto's CCPA paper.
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/Saskatchewan_Pubs/2007/TILMA_Jeopardy.pdf
You can also read the news article from Saskatchewan below.

One of the main tools used to promote the need for TILMA is a
Conference Board of Canada study that claims that the pact would add
$4.8 billion to BC's economy. Despite the media's ongoing use of these
numbers, the study has been debunked for its bad methodology. The
Canadian Union of Public Employees has acquired addition information
on the Conference Board of Canada study through Freedom of Information
requests. Most interestingly, the FOI uncovers what a Ministry of
Transportation employee had to say about TILMA:

"The Ministry of Transportation response included the following:
* Trade is currently fairly open between the provinces and I'm not
sure there would be significant gains from a further reduction in
barriers.
* However, coverage to every provincial measure might prove
problematic. There are many reasons for differences, some legitimate
and some more political in nature.
* From the perspective of transportation, there are certain
legitimate reasons for differences, e.g. geography, climate and
safety."

You can read more on this FOI here:
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2008/01/23/manufacturing-tilma-consent/

The issue of so-called trade barriers will be on the agenda next week
when Premiers meet in Vancouver on Monday and Tuesday. "The meeting of
the Council of the Federation, where climate change and
interprovincial trade barriers are expected to top the agenda, is
being held amid growing pressure on provincial leaders to harmonize
Canada's patchwork of climate change regulations and policies." It is
ridiculous that the premiers are discussing these two issues together.
Climate change initiatives will require massive regulation, while
TILMA is ultimately a form of deregulation.


Best,
Caelie



[1]

New gov't turfs TILMA
Christopher Heffernan
Wednesday January 23, 2008

http://www.meridianbooster.com/News/370402.html

The new Saskatchewan Party government has indicated it will not enter
a controversial trade deal with Alberta and British Columbia, saying
it is not willing to put the province's Crown corporations at risk.

The Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) was
rejected by the previous NDP administration last summer on the grounds
that it left too many unanswered questions. The new administration has
upheld the decision, saying Saskatchewan has missed the boat on TILMA
and it's too late for the province to renegotiate.

"We're revisiting the idea of reducing and removing trade barriers
between the Western provinces, but with TILMA we're late in the game,"
said Lyle Stewart, minister of enterprise and innovation. "A number of
parameters are set and among those we're concerned about a couple of
things."

Among their worries is the threat TILMA poses Crown corporations.
While formally protected under the agreement, there are concerns the
Crowns could be attacked through various legal loopholes. For
instance, TILMA allows an individual or corporation to sue any
government entity - including municipalities, school boards, or Crown
corporations - that it believes are impeding its ability to do
business.

The agreement also explicitly prohibits the use of government
subsidies, which would prevent provincial and municipal governments
from offering investment and growth incentives to support local
industries.

"Those are deal-killers for us," said Stewart, adding the agreement
could have better represented Saskatchewan's interests had the former
government been at the table during its negotiation. "I don't see us
signing onto the deal unless there's some willingness to re-negotiate
it from the ground up, and I don't see that."

This is not good enough for business groups who want to see
Saskatchewan join its neighbours in creating the country's largest
single market. No where is enthusiasm for the agreement stronger than
among Lloydminster's business community, which deals day in and day
out with the red tape of inter-provincial regulations.

"I find it so silly that we talk about free trade and international
trade but here in Canada, between the provinces, we have some of the
largest barriers," said Glenn Fagnan, president of the Lloydminster
Chamber of Commerce.

On Feb. 12, the chamber will be proposing a resolution on TILMA to its
members. If passed, it will be sent to the Saskatchewan government
urging them to sign the agreement.

The main irritants for local businesses include the costs of dual-
licensing for professionals in both provinces, different building
codes and workplace safety regulations, trucking weights, dimensions,
and licensing requirements, and restrictions on the inter-provincial
movement of meat, dairy products, and eggs for resale.

Stewart says these are "mostly minor irritants" but admits that added
together, they can impede the ability of businesses to be productive
and competitive. He says he would like to work with other provinces to
lower trade barriers outside of TILMA. However, he confirms that no
formal discussions have yet been planned with any other provinces.

[2]

Premiers put global warming on agenda
Campbell hopes to focus discussion on adapting to rapidly changing
environment
JUSTINE HUNTER

January 22, 2008 at 6:22 AM EST

VICTORIA -- Canada's premiers meet next week in Vancouver to talk about
climate change, but they could sidestep the thorny issue of how the
nation cuts its greenhouse gas emissions - a subject on which there
appears to be little prospect for agreement.
The meeting of the Council of the Federation, where climate change and
interprovincial trade barriers are expected to top the agenda, is
being held amid growing pressure on provincial leaders to harmonize
Canada's patchwork of climate change regulations and policies.

But British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell hopes instead to find
accord on how to manage the fallout from global warming. He'll play
host at a forum that will focus on how Canadians adapt to the changing
climate - an area where B.C.'s communities have already built up a
wealth of unwanted experience, from wildfires and drought to floods
and dead forests.

There remains a wide gap between the provinces on how to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions from industry and transportation, with most
provinces and the federal government proceeding on different tracks.

Last week, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty joined a chorus of
business leaders who have complained about the piecemeal approach to
cutting the pollution that is contributing to global warming.

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives has called on the premiers
and territorial leaders to strive for a consensus on climate change
policy.

Alberta, for example, is forging ahead with intensity-based carbon
emission targets for heavy polluters that are out of step with the
federal government's targets.

B.C. is aiming for an absolute reduction of one-third of emissions by
2020 based on 2007 emission levels, while Ontario is promising a 6-per-
cent cut by 2014, using 1990 as a baseline.

And while most provinces support the adoption of California's plans
for new vehicle fuel efficiency standards, Ontario is opposed.

While those differences will likely be discussed, Mr. Campbell hopes
to focus the discussion for the first time on adaptation to, rather
than mitigation of, global warming.

"Adaptation is about preparing ourselves for the inevitable," a B.C.
government official said. "Adaptation will be the background to
everything - it's water, it's forestry, it's emergency preparedness."

Richard Hebda, a leading climate change expert from the Royal B.C.
Museum, said the premiers must not lose sight of the need to mitigate
emissions, but said the province is well positioned to drive the
adaptation agenda.

"We are the canary in the coal mine - northern B.C. is already
cooking," he said yesterday.

Over the past century, minimum winter temperatures in almost every
part of B.C. have increased, with increases of at least 3 per cent in
the north and the Interior.
Across British Columbia, there are examples of the changes already
taking place as a result: the devastating 2003 Kelowna wildfires, the
destruction of vast stretches of forests due to the mountain pine
beetle, the recent flooding in Prince George and drought on Vancouver
Island that is killing grand firs in Mr. Hebda's own Victoria
neighbourhood.
"Our landscape is going to change and we have to prepare for those
changes," Mr. Hebda, the curator of botany and Earth history at the
Royal B.C. Museum as well as a professor of biology at the University
of Victoria.

"A lot of our population is concentrated in narrow areas with
significant exposure to flooding, fires and droughts," he said.
"Premier Campbell has to impress upon the other premiers how important
adaptation is. I'm not sure all of them are there yet."

The council will meet in Vancouver on Monday and Tuesday, with the
second day devoted to climate change adaptation. Monday will be spent
on a range of issues including trade and labour mobility between
provinces.