Mr. Speaker, I am proud to submit a petition signed by a significant number of Canadians, most from my riding of Guelph. They add their voices to the thousands across Canada and the 16 municipalities across the country calling on the House of Commons to urge the government to exclude all sub-federal governments and their public agencies, including municipalities, from any Canada-EU procurement agreement.
As it stands, CETA negotiations include government procurement, including projects at the provincial and municipal levels.
Municipalities like Guelph are rightfully concerned that they will lose the right to have independent procurement policies and the ability to buy local materials and services. These restrictions would cripple the ability of municipalities to stimulate local innovation, foster local community economic development, create local employment and achieve strategic local public policy goals.