WIN! Toronto executive committee passes CETA motion

Tonight around 6:30 p.m. Toronto’s executive committee passed the following motion on the Canada-EU trade deal. It was a an alternate motion tabled by Pam McConnell through Michael Thompson (McConnell is not a sitting member of the executive, Thompson is). The original motion from Kristyn Wong-Tam and Glenn de Baeremaeker proposed to request a complete exemption for the City from the CETA. The alternate, which was passed almost unanimously (one councillor opposed), read as follows:

THAT CITY COUNCIL:

Endorse the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) seven principles for the Federal Government to apply to the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and future trade deals
Encourage the Federal Government of Canada and the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway to continue consultation with FCM in order to address municipal concerns in relation to trade deals.
Request the Province of Ontario to accelerate direct dialogue with City of Toronto officials to ensure that the City of Toronto’s municipal rights are protected, with particular attention to:
- The low procurement thresholds of $340,000 for goods and services and $8.5 million for construction
- Local procurement needs
- Dispute resolution mechanism
Communicate its position to the Federal Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The original motion, a February 2 Toronto city staff report on how CETA could affect Toronto policy, and other background documents can be read here.

For related blogs, please see: