Internal Trade Agreement fails the grade

(OTTAWA) The Council of Canadians is giving the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) a report card today, and it gets a failing grade. The report cards are being circulated to the delegates at a government-sponsored conference on internal trade at a downtown Toronto hotel today.

"For environmental and labour standards, for democracy, for transparency, the AIT fails to live up to our expectations. For big business benefit, however, the AIT gets an A+," said David Robbins, Trade Campaigner for the Council of Canadians. "This agreement helps forward the agenda of the now-infamous NAFTA and WTO agreements, yet very few Canadians know about the AIT and how it could affect their everyday lives. Our report card is meant to shine some light in a very dark corner."

The federal government and the provinces are currently working on expanding the AIT, which first came into effect in July 1995. Proponents of the agreement are pushing for it to become a legally binding agreement - one which already contains investor-state provisions similar to the controversial Ch. 11 of NAFTA. Some provinces are also pushing for the AIT to expand its coverage of health, education and social services.

"Eliminating internal trade barriers in Canada is corporate-speak for putting downward pressure on provinces' abilities to regulate in areas such as environmental regulations and consumer protections," said Loretta Gerlach, Prairies Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians. "And all the while much of the negotiating text is not available to the public. It's trade without democracy once again."

The FCM vote follows motions passed or pending at over 59 municipalities across the country, including Vancouver and Toronto. Council of Canadians members across the country have been working for the last several months to raise awareness about the GATS with municipal governments.