First it was CUSTA (Canada-U.S. Trade Agreement), then it was NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and now it is TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement.)
Touted as a deal to enhance the economies of B.C. and Alberta by removing regulatory obstacles to trade, investment, and labour mobility between the two provinces, TILMA is being promoted throughout Canada. Its real objective is to remove provincial and municipal barriers so that public policy could be harmonized in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico under the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America.
While CUSTA and NAFTA applied to regulations under federal government jurisdiction, international corporations still found provincial and municipal regulations an impediment to the maximization of their profits. Adoption of TILMA across Canada would be another step toward undermining public control over natural resources (including water), energy and food security, social programs (such as health care), environmental, tax, foreign, and defense policies, and much more.
Most of the decisions regarding these agreements are concluded in secret meetings behind closed doors and without public participation. Our politicians are gradually allowing power to be shifted from government to private corporate boardrooms. It is my view that Canadians must not allow this to continue. What is at stake is no less than Canadian sovereignty itself.
