North To Lose Is Province Makes Trade Agreement

North To Lose Is Province Makes Trade Agreement

Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 15:01

The Treasurer of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour says the North stands to lose out if the province signs onto an economic partnership with Alberta and B.C.

The Trade, Investment and Labour mobility agreement is essentially a free-trade deal between British Columbia and Alberta.

It was created last year and now the Saskatchewan government is examining the potential benefits of signing on.

However, the federation of labour’s Marvin Meichel says the province may want to reconsider.

According to him the deal penalizes government subsidies for local areas like the north.

Meichel says there is a provision to exclude aboriginally-based hiring policies from the rules.

However he notes the agreement would make it impossible for employers to hire workers based on where they live because that would be seen as discriminatory.