TILMA vs CAMBIE STREET

Sorry, clicked the last message too soon. This is the rest of it:

QUOTE: "The [TILMA] dispute resolution procedure it creates lets individuals or businesses challenge government measures and seek compensation of up to $5 million for each successful challenge."

Says it all for Cambie businesses, doesn't it?

Did anyone else guffaw at

Did anyone else guffaw at Susan Anton's incisive statement? And tilma is "strongly supported by the Harper government"? Therefore, be very suspicious. The Multilateral Agreement on Investment just keeps rearing its ugly head in new incarnations. The elite keep moving towards total control, incrementally and relentlessly. If we lived in a genuine democracy, this type of "agreement" would be unthinkable.

All these so called

All these so called "agreements" are in reality treaties, and international treaties, designed to restrict the democratic rights of peoples to make their own decisions.

Originating with the US-Canada FTA, they've been using the word of "agreement" to bypass the 2/3 majority requirement by the US Senate to pass international treaties.

Agreements need only simple majority to pass.

The TILMA is the first step toward the SPP and one of its main requirement, the "free movement of workers".

This means that if the SPP is passed, corporations, especially in mining and other resource industries, will be able to import their own minimum wage labour force, and fire all Canadian labour .

The outgoing head of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, made a speech in Chicago a few weeks ago, extolling the benefits of the "free movement of labour". Obviously, there are big money directorships and job waiting for him with the multinationals.

Major corporations have been using the deregulated money creation powers of the banks to take control of our and the world's resources and are now on the verge of causing a global depression, with the collapse of the worthless US dollar, which will give them the power to set up a worldwide corporate dictatorship, called "rules based trade agreements".

Note, that all the most vicious dictatorships of the 20th century have been the result of economic depressions, when people had no other choice, but to accept mass murderers to control them.

People will have to make the choice one of these days whether they want democracy, or live under the fascism of "trade rules" for the maximization of profits for a few.

Ed Deak, Big Lake.

Time to Speak Out

Civic involvement in pollitical decision making is (finally) on the increase. Through conduits like the Tyee, Council of Canadians, rabble.ca and many other organizatons. If we wish to keep our democracy, we're going to all have to do more. Leaving things to the political/corporate elites was a catastrophic error. Great article!

If TILMA is so great for the

If TILMA is so great for the masses why is it so secret? TILMA, NAU, NWO not a mention in msm, Why?
If Gordo, R Klein and Harper are involved then we have to fight it for OUR kids! Harper is trying to pressure the rest of the country into this looney "21st Century of Slavery" by the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY Corporate Militarization of OUR planet by the likes of Wal-Mart, EXXON, RD Shell, Carlyle grp., and the rest of the vermin.
We the population of North America are stronger than the few hundred at the head of this serpent, "Let's Roll"
Big Banks
I just finished watching this short but very insightful documentary! We are being "royally" screwed, as we all in some way owe big banks money!
http://moneyasdebt.net
Big Five equals $19 billion just in Canada in obscene profits this is the biggest reason behind all world misery, poverty and wars!
http://www.50years.org/action/s26/factsheet2.html
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Transnational_corps/TransnationalCorps.html

TILMA for the masses

BC Dude is on the right track and gives me an idea: The Supreme Court has just set the Campbellites back on their heels. Regardless of how one felt about the union deals, they were signed, negotiated, legal agreements. Does anyone remember any other BC Government just walking in and tearing up a legal contract? But look at what has happened here since May 2001 - CB reneges on its deals with pre-sale contracts with would-be homeowners. And today another developer thinks he can just walk out on some lot sales because the sub-division is going to cost him more than he'd figured. You think one of us would get away with that?
Then Mayor Young of PoCo, a self-confessed problem drinker, refuses to step aside from his taxpayer-funded job until the court decides whether he's guilty of assault. And just this morning, 'NW's Bill Good professed surprise that "while criminals are released onto the street, small-business people are behind bars, in vain attempts to prevent more break-ins."
The 'Best Place on Earth'? I don't think so. Sounds more like BC's going to the dogs. What's left of it, that is.
My question to Mr. Campbell is this: If we find out that TILMA is not good for us 'ordinary' British Columbians, can we break that agreement, too?

Some corrections and a comment on Peter Ladner

The Agreement on Internal Trade was signed in 1994 and came into effect in 1995.

Municipalities will become fully under TILMA in 2009, but until then, any new regulations or amendments that municipalities enact must be TILMA-compliant.

The AIT also was voluntary, so provinces could implement as much as they wanted with no binding force.

TILMA was designed to put teeth into the AIT by making its provisions binding. This is why there is the $5 million penalty. So if TILMA supporters claim similar penalties are in other agreements, that could be, but just not in the AIT.

Peter Ladner's efforts to spin and ridicule viable criticism of TILMA at Council that day were quite sad and disturbing. He mocked people warning about the dangers of TILMA by suggesting that the dark side of the agreement is "losing sovereignty or something". To be that dismissive is quite unnerving from a city councillor.

A Quick Critique of TILMA

A good summary of TILMA's nature and threats is here:

http://cupe.ca/updir/TILMA_Facts_%26_Implications.pdf