WIN! Toronto executive committee passes CETA motion.
(with a lot of hard work, sometimes you win!)
Tonight Toronto’s executive committee passed the following motion on the Canada-EU trade deal. It was a an alternate motion tabled by Pam McConnell through Michael Thompson (McConnell is not a sitting member of the executive, Thompson is). The original motion from Kristyn Wong-Tam and Glenn de Baeremaeker proposed to request a complete exemption for the City from the CETA. The alternate, which was passed almost unanimously (one councillor opposed), read as follows: THAT CITY COUNCIL:
- Endorse the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) seven principles for the Federal Government to apply to the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and future trade deals
- Encourage the Federal Government of Canada and the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway to continue consultation with FCM in order to address municipal concerns in relation to trade deals.
- Request the Province of Ontario to accelerate direct dialogue with City of Toronto officials to ensure that the City of Toronto’s municipal rights are protected, with particular attention to:
- The low procurement thresholds of $340,000 for goods and services and $8.5 million for construction
- Local procurement needs
- Dispute resolution mechanism
- Communicate its position to the Federal Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The original motion, a February 2 Toronto city staff report on how CETA could affect Toronto policy, and other background documents can be read here. (note – CETA is a player in privatization of water, too). And you wonder what ELSE Harper sold to China last week??)
