WHEREAS the provincial governments of British Columbia and Alberta have entered into a Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement TILMA, which came into effect on April 1, 2007 and which is intended to liberalize trade, investment and labour mobility beyond the level provided by the Agreement on Internal Trade that was brought into effect for British Columbia on March 31, 2002; AND WHEREAS TILMA has the potential to have far reaching negative impacts on local government objectives: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities review the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement between British Columbia and Alberta, and enter into discussions with the provincial government and local governments, with the intent of either making changes to the agreement to more specifically address local government concerns, exempt local governments from the agreement, or request that the Province withdraw from the agreement altogether.
MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Prior to the resolution, the Ministry of Economic Development Ministry had already commenced consultations with the Union of British Columbia Municipalities UBCM and all interested municipalities to identify those matters that municipalities would like to see addressed. It should be noted that the TILMA does not prevent municipalities from maintaining measures such as zoning bylaws, height restrictions or rules applying to signage. Nor does the TILMA restrict the ability of local governments to make non-discriminatory bylaws that are in the best interests of their citizens. As part of the two-year transitional period to extend the TILMA to the broader public sector, the Ministry will continue to engage the UBCM and interested local governments. At their request, the UBCM has also been invited to participate in the negotiations.