TRADE AGREEMENT TAKING FULL FORCE

The TILMA Timeline:

April 2006 – British Columbia and Alberta sign the TILMA

April 2007 – TILMA comes into force covering certain sectors, for example: commercial vehicles, dispute resolution mechanism, energy, and provincial government procurement.

May 2007 to July 2008 – formal consultation with the MASH (municipalities, academic institutions, school boards and hospitals) sector

April 2006 to March 2009 – Discussions involving B.C. and Alberta regulators for professional occupations and tradespersons

July 2008 – Agreement on MASH sector coverage

April 2009 – Full implementation of the TILMA

What does the TILMA cover?

The TILMA agreement applies only to government measures that restrict trade, investment or labour mobility.

The TILMA does not apply to:

water use, royalties, taxation, First Nations, regulated rates, social policy and labour and employment standards

The TILMA upholds important public policies in matters involving government responsibility, including public safety and security, environmental and consumer protection, protection of the health, safety and well-being of workers, and the provision of health services and social services within the province. Municipalities, Crown corporations and the financial services sector will be covered by the TILMA when it is fully implemented by April 2009.

Why the TILMA?

British Columbia believes that there are further benefits to be derived in the pursuit of eliminating barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility. British Columbia and Alberta (along with all the provinces, territories and federal government) are both signatories to the pan-Canadian Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) but agree that many barriers still remain despite that 1995 agreement.

Where can I get more information on the TILMA?

www.tilma.ca

Is there anything outstanding for B.C. and Alberta to reconcile?

While B.C. and Alberta have gone through a process of reconciling their existing regulations, TILMA brings a commitment to work collaboratively to minimize differences as future regulations are brought forward by one province or the other.

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Media contact:	Gordon Williams Communications Director Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development 250 952-0152

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.