Bring TILMA forward for a Legislative Debate
On April 1, 2007, the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement
(TILMA) came into effect in the provinces of British Columbia and
Alberta. The province of B.C. has yet to debate the need for such an
agreement, even in the most obvious of places, including the
legislature.
In the spring of 2008, the BC Liberals introduced Bill 32, which would have amended the current legislation that allows courts to order the BC government to pay out monetary settlements, through the private court system set up under TILMA. Bill 32 will only allow for a debate on that Bill and discussion on the Agreement itself will be ruled out of order.
TILMA needs to be debated fully by elected representatives. The full
text of the Agreement must be introduced to allow for significant debate
on TILMA to take place in the legislature.
If you are concerned about TILMA and the impact the Agreement will have
on democratic process, we encourage you send a letter to Premier
Gordon Campbell and Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen,
letting them know that you want to see the TILMA brought forward to
ensure debate in the legislature. http://canadians.org/action/2007/09-Nov-07.html
To the Honourable the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, in Legislature Assembled:
The petition of the undersigned citizens of the Province of British Columbia, states that:
The Government of British Columbia has never allowed a public debate or any public consultations on the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement that it signed in 2006 with the Province of Alberta despite the fact that this agreement has serious implications for democratic governance of this Province, privileges investor rights over local decision-making and undermines the autonomy of local government, school boards and other levels of government in British Columbia. Your petitioners respectfully request that the Honourable House call for debate in the Legislative Assembly on the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement Act, to permit at least some public debate on this crucial issue.
