Canada-Europe Free Trade: After Victoria’s Pullout, Vancouver Mulls ‘Clandestine’ CETA Deal
(David P. Ball – Vancouver Observer)
In a landmark decision for BC communities, Victoria City Council voted unanimously on May 10 to be excluded from what international trade minister Ed Fast touts as “the most ambitious trade deal” in history.
Victoria passed a motion to opt out of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), currently in final-stage secret negotiations with Europe, only weeks after federal cabinet ministers were deployed across Canada to promote it. [...]
The city’s decision joins motions in nearly 60 municipalities across Canada, including opt-out votes in Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton, warning that CETA risks banning municipalities from enacting buy-local or hire-local policies, and potentially impinges on city contracts such as water services. Read more here.
Date: May 15, 2012
