WHEREAS Canadas public water services supply, distribution and treatment systems are community assets that local governments oversee and manage in the best interest of the public; AND WHEREAS the inclusion of water services in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA would undermine the public control and accountability of these vital assets: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM call on the Government of British Columbia to remove water services from any commitments under the proposed Canada-EU CETA and that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities call on the Government of Canada to remove water services from its negotiations on CETA with the European Union.
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism Innovation The supply, distribution and treatment of Canadas public water services represent significant opportunities in public procurement across Canada. For this reason, it is expected that the European Union will be interested in those procurement opportunities. Canadas existing trade agreements do not in any way threaten public control over water services by forcing privatization or deregulation. These are decisions that will continue to be made by elected officials. It is expected that Canada will not derogate from this principle. In addition, nothing in the trade agreements prevent governments from setting standards to ensure that all British Columbians continue to have access to safe drinking water.