Opposition to the procurement chapter in the proposed Canada-EU free trade agreement continues to grow in British Colombia. Last week, the British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) passed a resolution requesting:
– a briefing from the Province of BC on the scope and content of trade negotiations with the European Union, including to provide an analysis of the potential impacts on school boards functions and powers of the procurement regime that the European Union is seeking;
– and that the provincial government negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from [the] Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). (Emphasis mine.)
The BCSTA, which collects all 60 provincial boards of education, voted in favour of the motion at its annual general meeting in Vancouver last week. It was submitted by the Chilliwack Board of Education, which passed a similar resolution at a meeting in February. Both resolutions follow a Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) motion passed last year also requesting a “clear, permanent exemption” for cities, towns, school boards, hospitals and other sub-federal entities in the CETA agreement.
TAKE ACTION – Take school boards and cities out of CETA!
We need to act now to encourage cities, towns and districts, school boards and universities across Canada to follow in the footsteps of the UBCM, Chilliwack school board, and now the B.C. School Trustees Association, by requesting that municipalities and other local government bodies be kept out of CETA. Click here for a draft resolution you can use in your community. The provinces and territories will make offers on procurement to the EU very soon. We can’t let cities and school boards be part of those offers!
