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the council of canadians has
called on Toronto city council to oppose the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) now being negotiated at the World Trade Organization.
The GATS could open up municipal services such as water delivery to private corporations and treat local building and zoning regulations as barriers to trade. The Council of Canadians also warns that government subsidies to local businesses and non-profit organizations could be seen as unfair treatment.
“We’ve been calling on our membership across Toronto to start lobbying councillors,” says Council of Canadians campaigner Bryan Timm.
City councillor Pam McConnell was going to be forwarding a resolution to her colleagues this week to exclude municipalities from the GATS until a full public consultation. A majority of city council previously supported a resolution against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment.
