VICTORIA, May 20 /CNW Telbec/ - Trade and public interest litigation
expert Steven Shrybman will release a legal opinion that calls into question
the constitutionality of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement
(TILMA) at a press conference on Wednesday, May 21st in Victoria.
The legal opinion on the TILMA Implementation Act that the BC government
is trying to push through legislature this month was commissioned by CUPE, a
leading critic of the move by governments in BC and Alberta to bypass proper
regulatory channels in the name of swift business development.
"We have every reason to be concerned about the precedence Bill 32 could
set," says Paul Moist, national president of CUPE. "Governments in Ontario,
Quebec, and Atlantic Canada are already looking at their own versions of
TILMA."
"Shrybman's expert judgment should set off alarm bells for anyone
concerned about protecting the powers of elected governments and the autonomy
of judges."
Shrybman also outlines how the TILMA system allows private individuals
and companies to sue democratically elected governments and seek monetary
penalties against them. Copies of the opinion will be available at the press
conference.WHAT: Press conference to launch legal opinion by Steven Shrybman on
TILMA
WHO: Steven Shrybman - Sack, Goldblatt and Mitchell
Barry O'Neill - president, CUPE BC
WHEN: Wednesday, 21 May 2008, 10:30 a.m. (pacific)
WHERE: Coast Harbourside Hotel
146 Kingston Street, Victoria, BC
For further information: For interviews with Steven Shrybman or Barry
O'Neill: Dan Gawthrop, CUPE BC Communications, (604) 999-6132; For interviews
with Paul Moist: Pam Kapoor, CUPE Communications, (613) 853-8089; Media
backgrounder and key conclusions:
http://www.cupe.ca/tilma/shrybman_on_bill_32
