MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2008

BC residents find no interprovincial trade barriers at BC- Alberta border

Golden, BC - On the first anniversary of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between BC and Alberta, a group of Golden residents traveled to the provincial border armed with a magnifying glass to challenge one of TILMA's core premises. Upon close examination of the border, they concluded that there are no significant trade barriers to justify an agreement that undermines local democracy.

"Several studies show that genuine trade barriers are quite small and exist in only a few areas between provinces, said Carleen Pickard, the Council of Canadians' regional organizer for BC and the Yukon. When asked to provide examples of these 'barriers' proponents of TILMA are hard pressed to come up with any."

Failing to find fences, inspection stations or customs check points, the group concluded that TILMA had been sold to the people of both provinces as a solution to a problem that simply does not exist.

The controversial agreement, signed secretly between the BC and Alberta premiers in 2006, came into effect on April 1, 2007. Some components of the agreement came into effect immediately while others will take effect in 2008, when the agreement will fully apply to municipalities, and other government entities.

"While the premiers and other proponents of the deal insist that TILMA will eliminate 'trade barriers', these barriers are in fact differences across provinces in government procurement systems, labour standards, consumer-protection measures, environmental regulations, and taxes," said Pickard.

Community and labour organizations have been particularly concerned about the provisions in TILMA that grant corporations the right to sue local governments for up to $5 million when regulations are deemed an investment 'barrier'. Examples of regulations that might be subject to a TILMA challenge are local purchasing policies such as 'buy local' initiatives, height restrictions on new development and non smoking bans in public spaces.

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For more information, please contact Carleen Pickard: (604) 340-2455; cpickard@canadians.org.

For photos of the excursion, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoptilma/

Visit www.canadians.org/TILMA for more information about TILMA.