2 Right Wing Governments, 1 Secret Trade Agreement

Trade expert and public interest lawyer Steven Shrybman spoke to a crowd of 150 at the Vancouver Public Library on March 5, 2007, just 5 weeks before the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between B.C. and Alberta is scheduled to go into effect.

Steven has written at least two legal briefs on TILMA. One recently for the Ontario Federation of Labour, which led the OLF to outright oppose any expansion of TILMA . Steven’s brief states that, "The likely impacts of TILMA represent a profound assault on the capacity of present and future governments in B.C. and Alberta to serve the public interest."

Steven told the crowd about TILMA's inevitable downward pressure on provincial and municipal regulations, as well as the potential impacts the agreement will have on public space, health care and the environment. He also spoke extensively about how TILMA's dispute resolution mechanism has a much larger reach than any other free trade agreement Canada has seen and will grant corporations more power to challenge government measures than they have under NAFTA's Chapter 11.

Also at the event were three NDP MLAs who reported on a motion they brought to the B.C. legislature earlier that morning, calling for a full debate on TILMA before it goes into effect on April 1, 2007. After much partisan jostling, the NDP members said, the motion was eventually defeated.

Following these presentations, members of the public asked insightful questions about TILMA and how to fight to stop the agreement from being implemented.

Visit Working TV to download webcast of public forum.

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