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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Canada’s Capital Bucks Free Trade |
Current rating: 0 |
by david creighton
Email: dcr8on (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified!) |
13 May 2001
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On Wednesday [9 May] the City of Ottawa became the twentieth municipality in Canada to pass a resolution against the FTAA, GATS, and similar trade and investment agreements. Ottawa is Canada’s fourth largest city and the nation’s Capital. |
Shoehorned between a contentious bilingualism debate and consideration of the new megacity’s first budget, the resolution passed easily, 17 to 2 votes, in spite of representation from Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Pierre Pettigrew.
Dissenting Councilor Wendy Stewart quoted a letter from the Minister assuring Councilors that "municipalities will retain the right to legislate in areas where we have jurisdiction," and that "the Resolution cannot give us the right to abrogate our NAFTA obligations."
But the Councilors had been thoroughly briefed, "more thoroughly briefed than on any issue before," confessed Mayor Bob Chiarelli. Councilors each received a 100-page briefing book, which many "read cover-to-cover," they received personal delegations from constituents, petitions, countless phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails from hundreds of citizens.
Such intense lobbying by the loosely formed "Ottawa Coalition to Protect Municipal Democracy Against International Trade Pacts" [OCPMDAITP!] persuaded the City’s Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee to approve the Resolution unanimously, on April 19th. City Council then endorsed the resolution, with only a single friendly amendment, in less than five minutes.
The Council’s approval "shows that people without prior experience in bringing a resolution to the City Council of a major and very political Canadian city were able to do an amazing piece of work," said OCPMDAITP spokesperson Armand Coté. "With a terrific show of grass roots democracy, we swung the City Council behind the resolution which is a clear challenge to the present vision, or bad dream," he said, "of how society and nature should be arranged in the 'new world order'."
"This resolution takes head-on one of the most contentious subjects in our society, corporate driven globalization," spokesperson Emily Watkins said. "We learned that organization, focus, and a valid cause which speaks to and involves ordinary people in their real life is an underestimated social and political force," she said.
The first city to pass a trade and investment agreement resolution was Vancouver, in July 2000. Since then many other municipalities, and organizations of municipalities, plus two USA cities, have started examining the implications of these deals on their ability to govern.
In particular, as analyst Matt Sanger quotes the "recently liberated" FTAA draft chapter on "investor / state" relations: "The intentions of this chapter, Scope of Application, 7.1, applies to the entire territory of the Parties and to any level or order of government regardless of any inconsistent measure that may exist in legislation at those levels of government."
The recent Metalclad toxic waste dump case, in which the NAFTA tribunal ruled that the city of Guadalcazar in San Luis Potosi, Mexico did not have the right to protect public health and other matters under its jurisdiction, "demonstrated that the explicit provisions in NAFTA exempting municipal governments from Chapter 11 are not sufficient to protect municipal governments from the application of the provisions of Chapter 11," Mr Sanger said.
The cities of Kingston, Halifax, Brantford and others are expected to consider similar resolutions in the near future, spokesperson Derek McKee revealed. |
See also:
http://quebec.indymedia.org/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1676&language=english
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Full text of Ottawa's Resolution |
by david creighton
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
13 May 2001
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IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS ON PROVISION OF HEALTH, RECREATION, SOCIAL SERVICES, AND OTHER MUNICIPAL SERVICES
WHEREAS the recent Metalclad case has made it clear that international trade and investment agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), already have the potential to restrict the ability of municipal governments to deal with threats to public health and other matters under their jurisdiction;
AND WHEREAS the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee is concerned about the impact of international trade and investment agreements, such as the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and possible changes to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on the ability of municipal governments to take action on such matters as protecting public health, housing and the delivery of recreation and social services;
AND WHEREAS Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and corresponding sections of GATS and the proposed FTAA, directly threaten the jurisdiction of governments by permitting foreign governments and international corporations to sue governments which through their laws, regulations or other measures adversely affect future corporate earnings;
AND WHEREAS the Metalclad case has demonstrated that the explicit provisions in NAFTA exempting municipal governments from Chapter 11 are not sufficient to protect municipal governments from the application of the provisions of Chapter 11;
AND WHEREAS the GATS, and very likely the proposed FTAA, are clearly intended to further undercut the powers of local governments by penalizing governments which enact laws or regulations that constitute "unnecessary barriers to trade in services";
AND WHEREAS under the "national treatment" provisions of NAFTA and proposed agreements local governments would be required to provide large international corporations, including those active in the fields of health, recreation and social services, every benefit or advantage given to small and local enterprises;
AND WHEREAS the Federal Government has not adequately informed or consulted Canadians and local governments regarding the potential impact of trade and investment agreements;
AND WHEREAS the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has endorsed a policy stating that "any international trade and investment agreement must not limit municipal governments in any way", and the UBCM, the City of Vancouver, and other municipalities have passed resolutions asking the Federal Government to work for significant reform of trade and investment agreements;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
1. THAT the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee recommend that the City of Ottawa urge the Government of Canada to make clear the impact on protecting public health, housing, the delivery of recreation and social services and other matters under municipal jurisdiction and consult extensively with municipal councils and with Canadians in general about the impact of such agreements;
2. THAT the City of Ottawa urge the Government of Canada to include a permanent and explicit exemption in trade and investment agreements limiting their application to areas of Federal jurisdiction to ensure that sub-national, and especially municipal, governments maintain local flexibility and control within their areas of jurisdiction;
3. THAT the City of Ottawa, while recognizing that trade can and does have beneficial impacts on our region, petition the Government of Canada to refuse to sign any new or revised trade or investment agreements, such as the FTAA and the GATS, which:
i. prohibit municipalities from favouring local organizations or firms which provide benefits to the local community as delivery agents for municipal services, including health, recreation and social services;
ii. include investor state provisions similar to the ones included in NAFTA;
iii. restrict the lawmaking powers of municipalities or impose penalties in response to laws, regulations or other measures enacted by municipalities within their recognized areas of jurisdiction; or
iv. inhibit the ability of municipal governments to exercise their jurisdiction in the manner that best promotes the well-being of citizens, local [Canadian] business and the natural environment:
4. THAT the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) be urged to dedicate staff to monitoring international trade discussions and alert Canadian municipalities of any encroachment on their jurisdictions; and
5. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Motion be:
a) sent to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for International Trade and Members of Parliament and of the Provincial Legislature representing areas within the City of Ottawa, with the request that these elected local Members endorse the City's action;
b) forwarded to The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Executive for endorsement.
11 April, 2001
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See also:
http://quebec.indymedia.org/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1677&language=english
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