Mr. Speaker, municipal leaders across this country, including the mayors of Greenwood, Trail, Slocan and Grand Forks in my riding, strongly object to the provisions in CETA that will diminish their capacity to govern.
They are making it abundantly clear that a trade deal which limits their ability to give preference to local providers of goods and services or that results in their loss of control over water, waste, recycling and public transit are unacceptable.
According to the leaked draft of the agreement, any contracts above $340,000 for goods and services and $8.5 million for construction contracts would have to be opened to bids from European corporations. Municipalities that award contracts to local companies could very well be sued by these multinationals.
Who would even think of trading away the rights of the country's elected leaders to make decisions? Why has the government not clearly stated that these provisions are a non-starter?
Anything which strips municipalities of their democratic decision-making powers must not be included in CETA or any other trade agreement.