"Government of Canada be advised that the City of Toronto is opposed to Multilateral Agreement on Investment and requests that further negotiations cease and desist immediately"
TORONTO CITY COUNCIL Meeting of April 15, 16, 17, 1998 adopted the following
motion:
Moved by: Councillor Augimeri Seconded by: Councillor Miller
1) "WHEREAS the Federal Government is in the process of negotiating the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) with the 29 member countries of the OECD, with the intention of having a signed agreement by September 1998; WHEREAS the citizens of the City of Toronto have had little access to information and informed debate on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, and its implications at the federal, provincial and local levels; WHEREAS there are potential negative impacts of a Multilateral Agreement on Investment on the lives and livelyhoods of the residents of the City of Toronto, especially small businesses; WHEREAS the draft of the MAI treaty further extends the Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA in both the "National Treatment" and the "Performance Requirement" provisions, which will impact on the entire Municipal, University, School and Hospital sector, and specifically on the City of Toronto's ability to implement purchasing policies and practices that favour local Toronto based businesses and suppliers; WHEREAS the MAI treaty, as drafted, would stop municipalites from limiting the use of property by foreign companies, which could have the effect of restricting council's right to set planning by-laws; THEREFORE be it resolved that the City of Toronto urge the Government of Canada to consult widely and in depth with the people of Canada, especially and including, the soliciting of detailed responses from municipal councils, before taking any further action on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment";
2) that the Government of Canada be advised that the City of Toronto is opposed to Multilateral Agreement on Investment and requests that further negotiations cease and desist immediately; and
3) that the City of Toronto endorse the postion taken by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that the Prime Minister of Canada be petitioned to have the chief negotiator of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment file a permanent and explicit exemption in the Agreement limiting its application to areas of federal jurisdiction, and that City Council's action, together with supporting material from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities be circulated to:
(a) all municipalities in Canada with a population of over 50,000 and to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for support;
(b) all MPs representing the City of Toronto with the request that they endorse the City's action and that their responses as to whether or not they endorse Council's action, and their respective names, be:
(i) forwarded to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual meeting; and
(ii) be made available to the public;
(c) the Consulates of the other member countries of the OECD.