More municipalities raise CETA concerns, demand exemptions

April 13, 2012

More and more Canadian municipalities are raising concerns about the impact of Canada-EU trade negotiations (CETA) on local government decision making and economic development strategies.

In the last two weeks, Mississauga, Welland and Niagara Falls joined Hamilton, Toronto and a growing wave of Ontario local governments in asking the province for a “clear, permanent exemption” of their muncipality from CETA. Early in April, Grand Forks became the latest BC municipality to ask for an exemption from the deal.

At the end of March, Hamilton-Wentworth became the first Ontario school board to pass a CETA resolution, joining the BC School Trustees Association and the Chilliwack school board in BC. Many school boards are concerned about the impact of CETA on local food purchasing and other procurement policies.

For a map of Canadian local government resolutions on CETA, click here.

To read the Centre for Civic Governance CETA research and a resource list, click here.