Contact your Municipal Councillors about municipal autonomy and trade agreements ahead of the FCM

[Stop TILMA!]

NATIONAL ACTION ALERT!

June 3rd to June 4th!

Contact your Municipal Councillors about municipal autonomy and trade
agreements ahead of the FCM meeting this weekend.

The Federation of Canadians Municipalities (FCM) meeting is taking
place this weekend in Whistler and a resolution about international
and internal trade agreements will be on the agenda.

The resolution addresses concerns raised by municipalities when BC and
AL signed the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA)
behind closed doors. Municipalities are also concerned about the
impact changes being made to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and
the implementation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership
Agreement (SPP).

In BC and Alberta TILMA was fully implemented in April 1st of this
year. Other interprovincial trade agreements are being proposed in
Canada.

The provinces have recently agreed to modify the AIT after federal
pressure to do so. This means that many of the policy changes that are
being pursued under TILMA will apply to all of the provinces. In
addition, the federal government is pursuing bilateral trade
agreements with the European Union, Columbia and Peru that will
continue to disempower communities here and around the globe.

These trade policies clearly fall on the side of corporations. The
agreements restrict communities from developing socially and
environmentally responsible policies if they impede the interests of
corporations. Municipalities are being stripped of having democratic
control of policy decisions while corporations are being provided with
the opportunity to pursue a $5 million dollar fine if policy decisions
are not in compliance with their interests.

As we are aware, the interests of communities are often in conflict
with those of corporations. The use of Chapter 11 under the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and agreements like TILMA only
provide the tools to corporations to undermine the public interest.
Under TILMA, municipalities are not even allowed to represent
themselves if a dispute is brought forward against based on their
policy decisions.

We encourage you to contact your municipal and regional
representatives this week and let them know that you oppose new
corporate rights agreements.

Be sure that your representatives are standing on the side of local
democracy, the public interest, sound social and environmental policy
and in opposition to corporate rule. Tell them to support the
resolution (pasted below) and continue educating their communities
about TILMA, the AIT and other trade agreements.

Please pass this on to your friends, family and co-workers.

_____________________________

To find out more about TILMA and changes to the AIT visit the links
below:

Council of Canadians Trade campaign:
http://www.canadians.org/trade/index.html

Council of Canadians- Questioning the Ontario–Quebec Economic
Partnership Agrement:
http://www.canadians.org/DI/issues/TILMA/resources.html

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) “State of Play- Internal
Free Trade Agenda”:
http://cupe.ca/trade/internal-trade-shrybman-state-of-play

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - "The Myth of Interprovincial
Trade Barriers":
www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs/bc_2007/bc_ab_tilma_btn.pdf

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - “Transforming the Agreement
on Internal Trade through binding enforcement”:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/reports/2007/12/reportsstudies1773/?pa=BB736455

________________________________________________


Resolution for FCM Meeting in Whistler...

NEGOTIATIONS ON INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND SECURITY
AGREEMENTS

WHEREAS local governments across the country have not had substantive
opportunities to assess and respond to agreements such as the Trade,
Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) and the Security and
Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP);

WHEREAS negotiations on internal and international trade and security
agreements should be conducted in an open, public forum; and

WHEREAS these kinds of trade and security agreements can affect local
government;

BE IT RESOLVED that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities advocate
to the federal government for an open public consultation before
negotiating any internal or international trade and security
agreement, and that this consultation process include local government
input, through FCM;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that FCM continue to research and monitor the
potential effect of internal and international trade and security
agreements on the local government sector.

City of Burnaby, British Columbia
City of Nelson, British Columbia
City of Trail, British Columbia
Union of British Columbia Municipalities