The Port Alberni Chapter of the Council of Canadians, TEN DAYS For Global Justice, The Alberni Valley Environmental Coalition, and the North Island College Students Association request that the Mayor and Council of the City of Port Alberni pass the following resolution.

Whereas we recognize that trade, both regional and international results in an important exchange of goods and services.

Whereas the WTO views itself as having the over-arching task of taking the many existing strands of global trade regulation and weaving them into one single comprehensive system. Renato Reggiero, former Director-General of the WTO has said “we are writing the constitution of a single global economy.”

Whereas trade has historically been based on the exploitation of plentiful resources such as forests, fish, agricultural products, fuels, minerals and human labour.

Whereas the world’s resources are generally no longer viewed as limitless and whereas we are also recognizing the environmental and human costs of our trade interactions. Examples of environmental costs are water and air pollution, global warming, atmospheric ozone depletion, soil loss, desertification and toxic wastes. Examples of human costs include child labour, poverty resulting from poor wages, injuries and health problems due to hazardous working conditions, exposure to hazardous wastes and unemployment due to corporate competitiveness.

Whereas the WTO enshrines a process of binding arbitration, which can over-rule the ability of governments at all levels to enact legislation designed to protect the public good in areas of health, human rights, environmental protection, and culture such as but not limited to those listed above.

Therefore be it resolved that Port Alberni City Council demands of the Federal Government that there be full disclosure and public debate about current and pending international trade agreements.

Further be it resolved that Port Alberni City Council demands that any entity charged with the task of regulating global trade also must consider the human and environmental costs involved in such trade, in order to create sustainable patters of production and consumption which will allow future generations to meet their basic needs.

This page was last updated on Thursday, August 17, 2006 18:10 .
If you linked to this page from somewhere else click here!