Dear Editor: Re: Alberta trade agreement worries city council, Burnaby NOW, Feb. 7. There have been concerns expressed in the NOW about the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA), and I would like to take this opportunity to clarify certain aspects of the agreement. TILMA, which comes into effect April 1 and allows for a two-year transition period, will promote the free movement of goods, services and labour between B.C. and Alberta. TILMA has the potential to add $4.8 billion to real GDP and create 78,000 new jobs in BC. TILMA was not negotiated in secret. Joint cabinet meetings were held in the three years leading up to the April 2006 agreement and, after each meeting, a news release was issued. Consultations were held with ministries, business groups, municipal governments, academic institutions, regulatory bodies and other provinces and territories. Three years of joint cabinet meetings, press releases and consultations - hardly a closed-door process. The intent of TILMA is to address unnecessary barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility - meaning barriers that discriminate against a company based on what province it comes from. Nothing in the TILMA requires municipalities or the province to change laws or bylaws to match those in Alberta or to match the desires of a business or individual. Harry Bloy, MLA, Burquitlam published on 02/17/2007 www.burnabynow.com/issues07/023207/opinion/023207le1.html Dear Editor: More agreement concern I agree fully with the proponents of the pesticide ban in Burnaby. The health and developmental risks to our children far outweigh the right of property owners to eliminate weeds with chemicals. There is one problem however and that is TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement) that was signed last year by the premiers of B.C. and Alberta and comes into effect in April this year. This deal has been not covered in the mainstream media much, even though it will profoundly affect our ability to regulate. The justification for TILMA is that it will "remove obstacles to trade." One of the "obstacles to trade" is regulation and our ability to pass laws that restrict or ban things such as pesticides. When the deal is fully implemented in 2009 corporations and individuals will be able to sue the provincial and municipal governments if regulations, such as a pesticide ban, "restricts or impairs" an investment. Murray Martin, Burnaby published on 02/10/2007 www.burnabynow.com/issues07/022207/opinion/022207le5.html Dear Editor: Agreement is worrisome Councillor Volkow was right to raise the question of the BC-Alberta interprovincial trade agreement during the Jan. 8 city council meeting. The planning for this pact started in 2003 when the open, transparent and accountable Gordon Campbell, met with then-Alberta premier Klein and hatched this Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement behind closed doors. The all encompassing aim of this agreement is based on the Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is a pact that is supported by right-wing, think tanks such as the Fraser Institute, the C.D. Howe Institute, the Business Council of British Columbia, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Albertan Canadian West Foundation, as well as magazines such as Canadian Business. Needless to say, organized labour was not informed about or welcomed to join in any discussions relating to this agreement. The TILMA, which comes into effect this April 1, will - as one Albertan government member (Gary Mar) suggested - provide an avenue for complaints and financial fines to be brought against various levels of government which is 'everything Canadian business asked for." Brian J. O'Neill, Burnaby published on 02/10/2007 www.burnabynow.com/issues07/022207/opinion/022207le4.html Alberta trade agreement worries city council A trade and labour agreement between BC and Alberta may have a "devastating effect" on cities in the province, according to Burnaby city council. The Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) generated a lot of concern from city councillors at Monday night's council meeting. The agreement is supposed to create more trade, investment and labour mobility between the two provinces than the Agreement on Internal Trade that was created in B.C. in 2002, according to a report from the city's director of finance. According to the report, municipalities are prohibited from implementing any measures that may impact trade, investment or labour mobility between B.C. and Alberta. Municipalities, the report said, are allowed to adopt measures impairing trade or labour mobility in the interest of safety, security and order, as well as environmental conservation, provision of social and health services, programs for disadvantaged groups and prevention of critical shortages of essential goods. The quality of life for residents isn't considered to be a legitimate objective, so zoning could be challenged by the agreement, the report said. Cities that violate the agreement could be fined $5 million by an appointed tribunal. Mayor Derek Corrigan, who is the GVRD's representative on the International Trade Agreement, said the Greater Vancouver Regional District has been fighting these issues at a federal level as well. He said the federal government, during the Liberal mandate, took these issues seriously, but now domestic regulation has been brought back by the Conservative government. He said that international companies may sue cities in order to have regulations or measures that are the least offensive possible to corporations' abilities to invest and make money. "That isn't necessarily in the best interests of our communities to have international corporations using our regulations to make money - the greatest amount of money possible." He said the agreement is "even more egregious than anything that has been done in the international trade agreements." He said the agreement would enable Alberta businesses to complain about B.C.'s ability to regulate municipalities. "TILMA is a situation in which there is an omnibus attempt to take away the powers of municipalities," he said, adding that the agreement was never debated within the legislature. Coun. Dan Johnston said he's disturbed about the fact that the deal is an agreement between two premiers. "I think the part I find most offensive about this is, this is the Alberta-ization of British Columbia because of an agreement two premiers made in the background," he said. "B.C. has carved out its reputation in a way that citizens of British Columbia live here for specific reasons, and I think that this is nothing but a watering down of those rights in order to make us more like Alberta." Coun. Pietro Calendino said the deal may have a devastating effect on land use planning, bylaws and regulations for Burnaby and all other cities. "This is a really scary agreement," he said. "We may be challenged on any bylaws and regulatory regimes we have in this province by this agreement here." Coun. Colleen Jordan said the potential impact on cities is frightening because the agreement prohibits municipalities from amending new or existing standards and regulations that may operate or restrict trade investment or trade mobility. She said that during the agreement's consultation period between April 2007 and 2009, municipalities are prohibited from enacting bylaws and regulations that may interfere with the agreement. "I keep thinking about the whole process we've gone through about the privatization of liquor stores and the expansion of having private liquor stores in our communities and how we didn't want the Alberta experience coming to Burnaby," Jordan said, adding that an Alberta firm approached council last year wanting to open a private liquor store. "If that was happening this year instead of last year, we would be prohibited from having anything to say about it under this law. "I think this is pretty horrendous and really I'm quite surprised it hasn't gotten more attention and more play that this is in fact what is being proposed." City council will be sending their concerns on the agreement to other B.C. municipalities, the Lower Mainland Municipal Association, the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the GVRD. Article by Erin Hitchcock Staff Reporter published on 02/07/2007 www.burnabynow.com/issues07/022107/news/022107nn5.html