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ACTION ALERT: Support Toronto’s call for a greater say in CETA negotiations (Canada-European Union free trade deal)On February 13, Toronto City Council's executive committee voted almost unanimously to support a motion from Michael Thompson (Ward 37, Scarborough Centre) calling for “accelerated consultation” with the provincial government and protections for local procurement and public policy from the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). While it wasn’t the full exemption for Toronto proposed in an earlier motion by councillors Glenn de Baeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre) and Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale), which all of the witnesses on February 13 supported, it was a big step forward. The executive committee sees the threats that CETA poses to local democracy and wants transparency from the Province. We need to make sure other councillors agree – and that they support the motion when it comes before full council on March 5. WHAT CAN YOU DO? We need Toronto residents to call or email their councillors letting them know they support the motion seeking greater transparency from the province and more engagement with the City of Toronto, which you can read by clicking here. WHAT IS CETA? CETA is bad news for Toronto. It's not really a trade deal at all. It would be more accurate to say the goal of CETA is to re-write the rules on how governments, including cities like Toronto, set policy on everything from buy local food supports to environmental protection to job creation and development strategies. CETA benefits corporations by limiting our social and economic options as communities. It threatens our public services, our jobs and the cost of our drugs and health care. TORONTO STAFF REPORT ON CETA A Toronto city staff report from February 2 says, “the ultimate implications of CETA are difficult to predict. This is particularly true given that offers have not been made public and there has been very little analysis shared by federal negotiators about the specific Canadian industries or labour force members that would benefit. In the absence of detailed consultation and communication, opposition to the agreement has been mounting.” On how CETA could affect specific Toronto programs, the report says:
NEW LEAKED DOCUMENTS AND THE RIGHT TO REGULATE IN TORONTO Where the staff report gets it wrong is by claiming there will be no impact on Toronto’s right to regulate or set policy in the future. Newly leaked documents related to CETA show that municipal governments have not been protected by the provinces or federal government. Existing public services and policies are locked in but can only be made more market-based in the future. And there is no protection for future local policies which will be vulnerable to trade and investment challenges from the EU. With negotiations coming to an end very soon, Toronto must speak up now or forever lose this policy space in the future. TAKE ACTION: ON MARCH 5, TORONTO MUST VOTE FOR TRANSPARENCY IN THE CETA NEGOTIATIONSBetween now and March 5, please call your councillor to let them know you support Toronto seeking transparency and a stronger role in the closed-door CETA negotiations. We've included some possible talking points below in a sample letter. You can email a version of this letter to your councillor also, but phoning is best. For more talking points, please consult our TAKE ACTION TOOLKIT: TAKE COMMUNITIES OUT OF CETA from the Council of Canadians' System Change website. To find your councillor by entering your street address, click here to use the City of Toronto Ward Profiles service. For more information on CETA, visit www.canadians.org/CETA. SAMPLE LETTER/TALKING POINTS FOR PHONE CONVERSATION I'm calling/writing to you about the Canada-EU trade agreement, which was discussed at the February 13 executive committee meeting. I support the motion that committee passed on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) because I think the City needs to hold onto its right to use public spending as an economic development and job-creation tool. Cities like Toronto need the freedom to be able to support local jobs and sometimes give a boost to local businesses and industries when and where it makes sense. They should be able to define what value for money means – not have it defined for them in a trade agreement that councillors had no role in negotiating. I’m encouraged that the motion passed on February 13 will step up Toronto’s engagement with the provincial government and that the City is committing to protecting its policy space in the CETA deal. A lot of times value for money comes down to the bottom line costs. Other times you get more value out of public spending by keeping people in the community working, increasing the city's tax base, or reducing impacts on the environment. The Canada-EU trade deal, if it applied to Toronto, would put too many restrictions on the economic development options of the city. It doesn't make sense. Once again, please vote for the motion on CETA coming before you on March 5. By doing so, Toronto would join the 40 or so, towns, school boards or associations across Canada raising concerns about this EU trade deal. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
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InformationCall 1-800-387-7177, or email inquiries@canadians.org, for more information on how you can support The Council of Canadians.
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