Municipalities vote in favour of exemption from trade agreement

(OTTAWA) Canadian municipalities today voted to be excluded from an international trade agreement on services, in response to growing concerns that the World Trade Organization (WTO) would force municipalities to open up their services, and their by-laws to the interests of profit-driven corporations.

"This is a major victory in the fight to halt the expansion of the WTO," said Loretta Gerlach, Prairies Organizer for The Council of Canadians. "The government's 'don't worry, be happy' approach has backfired here, and thankfully other levels of government are beginning to question the Chretien Liberals and their free-trade mantra."

Given the results of a recent NAFTA tribunal, municipalities have good reason to be concerned. The tribunal ruled that a municipal decision to deny a building permit was trade restrictive and forced the Mexican government to pay over $17 million US in damages.

The motion concerns the scope of the negotiations under way at the WTO to expand the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The vote was held this morning at the Annual meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in Banff, Alberta. It calls on the federal government to push for the exemption of local governments and authorities from Article I of the GATS.

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.