Nov 302012
Leaked documents show public water utilities are subject to restrictions.
The Council of Canadians and CUPE have acquired documents from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) showing that Canada is proposing to exclude the collection, purification and distribution of water from market access rules. Until now, only the European Union wanted to exclude water, with Canadian negotiators prepared to have the sector opened to privatization.
But municipal governments and their water utilities are still fully covered by the agreement's restrictive procurement rules.
Federal trade negotiators have been petitioned by more than 40 municipalities asking to be excluded from CETA. The European Union is pressuring Canadian negotiators to eliminate all local content requirements on transit and energy projects as well, and to eliminate provincial and regional development clauses.
"Canadian cities and towns are being asked to give up their right to buy locally or 'Buy Canadian' where it makes sense, for example on major energy, water or transit projects", said Paul Moist, CUPE President. "We urge the federal government to reconsider this unnecessary and economically dangerous concession to the EU."
According to a European Union report on the state of CETA negotiations a majority of EU member states decided that public utilities should be broadly excluded from the Canada-EU deal, a position that Canada has now accepted.
© Copyright 2012 SGNews Contributor, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca
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