TILMA Made In Alberta NAFTA

Accidental Deliberations points out that the NDP Government in Saskatchewan will be holding public hearings on the Alberta/B.C. TILMA pact, which is an agreement to homogenize provincial standards with NAFTA.

TILMA is being is being promoted Canada wide as the model for bilateral and multilateral agreements to end trade restrictions between provinves across the country.

The fact that like NAFTA and other international corporate government accords, this one was conducted in secret, with no public input.

Saskatchewan will allow the first public hearings on TILMA. This will allow a full discussion and disclosure of this internal NAFTA style pact. And thus it will allow labour, community, and others concerned with the pact to challenge it.

Like the MAI accord and other such multilateral and bilateral corporatist state trade agreements, public exposure will show that once again those who decry the State and call for less government really mean that they oppose transparency and responsibility to the citizens, preferring to do business with business behind close doors.

TILMA is a perfect example of the Alberta democratic deficit, which is the real politiks of the the Republicanadian right when they speak of wanting smaller or less government. It really means less political responsibility to the citizens.

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TILMA


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No Joke

The Alberta B.C. Free Trade agreement; TILMA came into effect today! It is modeled on NAFTA.

The Council of Canadians has denounced the pact as an intrusion on provincial political rights. It warns, for example, that it could stymie B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell's ambitious new environmental plan.

The agreement gives businesses and individuals the right to sue either province if they find that any regulation or government policy "restricts or impairs" investment.

Governments in the two provinces see the deal as a blueprint for other provinces wanting to remove interprovincial trade barriers.

The council is also warning that a trade, investment and labour agreement between B.C. and Alberta could negatively affect municipalities.

It says school boards and health and social service agencies could also be stripped of protection by private investors wanting to put profit before regulations.

Pickard, the council's regional organizer for B.C., says that unfortunately, TILMA is not an April fool's joke.

The B.C. and Alberta governments are selling the agreement as a way to erase trade barriers.

But Pickard says it was signed without public consultation or legislative debate.

"TILMA has very powerful provisions that will allow companies to challenge and overturn important municipal bylaws," Pickard said in a statement.

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Labour

Unions

Temporary Workers

NAFTA

AFL





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Free Trade=Cheap Wages

The truth is in reading the fine print. Free Trade is not about trade, or sustainable markets, it is about off-shoring production and contracting out services.

India also offers Canadian companies another cheaper-wage locale besides China where they can shift production to save money and remain competitive.

This little fact will get lost in the hoopla that will be generated around a bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and India.



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