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(Truro) - The overwhelming rejection of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) by delegates to the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention this week should send a clear message to all Nova Scotians that ‘Atlantica’ is equally bad news.

That assessment comes today from CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh who says, “This should send a clear message to Premier MacDonald and to all local governments and taxpayers that these secretive trade agreements - being pushed essentially by big business - only serve to remove power from local governments.

Just this week we learned that two U.S. oil companies, drilling oil off Newfoundland, are planning a lawsuit under the North American Free Trade Agreement over demands that they spend money on research in the area.

This should raise a red flag for every provincial government in Atlantic Canada,” says Cavanagh.
 “The public needs to ask why these deals, like Atlantica, are happening behind closed doors without any public input. It’s time we moved this issue into the provincial legislature where it belongs, so that our elected representatives can have an open and democratic debate on it,” says Cavanagh.


For information:

Danny Cavanagh                                                  John McCracken
President, CUPE Nova Scotia                             CUPE Communications Representative
(902) 957-0822 (Cell)                                         (902) 455-4180 (o)
cupenovascotia@tru.eastlink.ca