CAW Economist Jim Stanford and CAW Local 2000 President Dylan Gadwa will address the City of Toronto’s Executive Committee Tuesday, January 24 as they deliberate a resolution requesting the provincial government to offer the city an exemption from the proposed Canada-EU free trade deal.

Stanford, a former member of the City of Toronto’s independent fiscal review panel and author of the study Out of Equilibrium: the Impact of Canada-European Union Free Trade in the Real World is expected to deliver his formal deputation at 9:30 a.m.

What:  CAW Economist Jim Stanford to speak on Canada-EU free trade deal
Where:  City of Toronto Executive Committee meeting, City Hall Committee Room 1
When:  Tuesday January 24, 2012
Time:  9:30 a.m. (expected)

Stanford will be available for comment after the deputation, outside the committee room.

Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations are set to wrap up in the coming months. A growing chorus of municipalities across Canada is calling call for an exemption from the deal amid uncertainty as to how this trade deal will impact their day-to-day work, including the possibility that local policy decisions could be subject to trade challenges and lawsuits, potentially, by private corporations.

Following Stanford, deputations will also be delivered by CAW Local 2000 President Dylan Gadwa representing telecommunications workers at Allstream across Canada, including 300 working in Toronto.

The motion to debate this resolution was first introduced at City Council by Councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker (Ward 38) and seconded by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27) on November 23, 2011.

A link to the motion under review can be found here:  http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2012.EX15.14