Making progressive procurement work for your community
Trade agreements must not get in the way of good public policy
As we’ve seen, many local development initiatives (“buy local” or official ethical purchasing policies)
run the risk of contravening new and existing internal and international trade agreements, even if these
important initiatives have little to do with trade as most people understand it. There are times when good
public policy doesn’t even make it to a vote because someone inside City Hall raises trade agreement
alarm bells, whether they are justified or not!
That is why it is important that our local councillors, as well as farmers, environmental groups and all
Ontarians recognize where trade agreements might have an impact – and then continue to push for the
local policies they want.
In Toronto they have done exactly that.
In October 2008, Toronto City Council adopted a Local Food Procurement Policy aimed at reducing
greenhouse gas and smog causing emissions generated by food imports from outside Ontario. The local
food initiative, which was part of the city’s broader Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Action
Plan, committed Toronto to progressively increase the percentage of food being served at city-owned
facilities or purchased for city operations from local sources.
The City of Toronto recognized the potential for trade challenges under various agreements, but decided
to pursue the local food initiative anyway.
“Establishing a local food procurement policy does have implications for interprovincial trade issues
and the policy could be interpreted as discriminatory in relation to the Agreement on Internal Trade, the
Discriminatory Business Practices Act, and the Competition Act,” wrote Toronto city staff in May 2008.
“This policy is being developed and recommended for environmental and health reasons and the goal
is to reduce the greenhouse gas and smog causing emissions associated with the food transportation
and production processes. The policy is not being put in place to reduce competition. The potential for a
challenge does exist, but the City should be able, as it did with the Pesticide Bylaw, to show that it has
the right to adopt a policy of this type because of the environmental and health issues of concern.”
What you can do
There are many ways to support good trade initiatives in your community. Here are some ideas:
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Build an awareness of internal and international trade campaigns into local battles for ethical,
sustainable or “buy local” purchasing policies in your community, whether at the city, school board,
hospital, or your local farmers market.
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Form a local government-public trade committee that can discuss trade issues, and hold councillors
to account when they get cold feet on a progressive procurement initiative. Through this committee,
you can help build a broader community awareness of the impacts international deals have
on local politics.
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Demand that trade agreements change, instead of handcuffing, communities by limiting how local
governments address climate change, the economy, and job creation.
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