Ratifying NAFTA ‘vitaly important’ for Canadian municipalities

Free and fair trade important to economies of Canadian municipalities, says Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who is representing the Federation of Canadian Municipalities at U.S. Conference of Mayors

Yorkregion.com
January 24, 2020
Heidi Riedner

Ratifying Canada's new North American trade deal is as vitally important to municipalities as it is to the country, says a York Region mayor representing Canada at an American conference of political leaders.

“I applaud the Prime Minister for making it a priority and I couldn’t think of a better time to be in Washington as we are on the cusp of the last country to approve this deal,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti before heading out to the United States Conference of Mayors Wednesday, Jan. 22.

The three-day conference in Washington, D.C. brings together 100 mayors from the U.S., as well as Scarpitti, who was selected by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to serve as the voice of its roughly 2,000 member mayors and municipalities.

It also coincides with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing formal approval of North America's new, long-delayed free trade pact is a “top priority” of his government.

At a press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba Tuesday, Trudeau said a ways and means motion -- a needed first-step for fiscal bills -- will be introduced on Jan. 27 while the bill to ratify the deal will come on Jan. 29.

Scarpitti stressed the importance of Canada-U.S. trade relations from the municipal perspective.

“As vitally important as this agreement is to the country, it is also to the future success of communities. If communities don’t have economic success, it’d be pretty tough to be successful as a country,” Scarpitti said, adding the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner.

“It still represents the largest foreign direct investment in Markham,” he added.

Ratifying the new NAFTA will “set stability for our economy between the U.S. and Mexico and opens up opportunities for generations to come,” Scarpitti said.

NDP MPs and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, however, have made it clear they are in no hurry to ratify, calling for a full debate and committee hearings.

While Scarpitti understands the other parties would want to do their due diligence and get further clarification on the potential impacts of the changes that were negotiated, he hopes they don’t let “this moment in history” pass them by as a result.

“Given that Mexico approved this very early on and now that the U.S. has given its bipartisan approval and support, I would say we should certainly do the due diligence as a country, but let’s not miss the opportunity”.

The Washington conference will also be an opportunity to demonstrate the strong role local governments play in international trade and economic development, Scarpitti said.

“We’ve had success developing international global relationships. In some places of China, Markham is actually better known than Toronto."

He attributes that to not only the city's economic development efforts, but also Markham having one of the most diverse communities in all of Canada that maintains a strong business and communication network with their country of origin and their organizations.

Markham is also home to more than 1,500 high-tech and life sciences companies that generate a staggering 37,000 jobs. Companies like IBM Canada, AMD, GM Canada, G&D, Qualcomm, Huawei, Pond Technologies, Terago, Bluewrist, Book4Time, Hyperion Sensors and Honda Canada also made the move to Markham.

Scarpitti said municipalities have become “complex creatures” from 10 to 15 years ago, with their role changing “dramatically” over the past couple of decades.

“It’s not just about looking after the potholes. It is about sustainability, it is about making sure we stay on the edge of leading technology, that we are attracting a workforce and investment that is going to make our economies grow at the local level.”

Conferences like the one in Washington allows municipal leaders to get together not only to share best practices, but also ideas.

“It is invaluable to see how others have tackled not only the leading issues of the day, but also to see what’s happening in other parts of the world.”

Scarpitti attributes being selected as the “voice” of Canadian mayors at the conference as a recognition by the FCM that the city of Markham “punches above its weight” when it comes to planning, green infrastructure and some of the leading initiatives on becoming a more sustainable city.

“It is a real honour for me to go to Washington and represent Canada on the broader spectre of municipal issues.”

Affordable housing, transportation, tech sectors and innovation, community hubs, culture and recreation are some of the topics being discussed.