Federation of Canadian Municipalities Passes Halton Hills Resolution

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) at their annual meeting in Whistler BC passed by a narrow margin a resolution calling on the United States to review its current “Buy American” policies included in many of the stimulus bills passed by Congress. The Town of Halton Hills has taken the lead on this resolution, in the past two months bringing it forward to the FCM and informing other municipalities and the public of the implications and possible Canadian job losses that this “Buy American” legislation presents.

The Town was approached by Mr. John Hayward, President of Hayward Gordon Ltd., about this pressing issue which threatens 30% of his current business. Hayward Gordon Ltd., a 57 year old Canadian manufacturer of pumps and mixers that are used internationally in water and wastewater plants, recently moved to Halton Hills. They built a new seven million dollar plant which employs over 70 local employees. The company also uses the services of local suppliers, contractors and trades people and is a vital part of the economic strategy in Halton Hills and the surrounding Region.

At a Special Meeting of Council held on April 20, 2009, Halton Hills Council passed a Resolution calling for the United States Government to reconsider a recent Act passed by Congress which requires that steel and other manufactured products be made in the United States.

Mayor Bonnette stated “This is a local company that finds itself in a difficult position and while we support Free Trade we also feel it should be Fair Trade and I fully support this Resolution”. This is not a Buy Canadian Resolution but rather a question of fairness; I think companies in other municipalities may find themselves in the same position and our support is justified.”

Acting Mayor, Councillor Clark Somerville a member of the FCM Board presented the resolution at the meeting asking the delegates to support Halton Hills’ position and provided a passionate presentation to the delegates to support the resolution. This issue will have significant impact on local municipalities and a strong response was required to advance Canada’s position on free and fair trade with the United States.

Unfortunately Mayor Bonnette could not attend the FCM meeting due to Town and personal commitments, however Councillors Somerville, Fogal, Hurst and Johnson
2 attended and all spoke to the delegates. Halton Hills Councillors made their presence known by all addressing the delegates and distributing Fair Trade buttons. Councillor Fogal was the last speaker prior to the vote and passionately defended the resolution, this combined effort resulted in the resolution passing by a narrow margin.

Councillor Fogal stated “I am extremely proud of Mayor Bonnette and Council, Councillor Somerville and the FCM Board for tackling such an important issue and having the courage to act when most would not have dared”.

Since taking this affirmative action in April, Mayor Bonnette on behalf of Council has fielded calls from all the major media in Canada and the United States he has stated emphatically that this is not trade protectionism but rather a question of fairness. While trade negotiations are generally a Federal Government responsibility, job losses at the local level can be devastating to communities and the FCM wanted to send a message to our Federal Government to negotiate on their behalf.

The FCM resolution closely parallels the one passed by the Town of Halton Hills but recommends that no action be taken for 120 days which will allow both the Federal and Provincial Governments to work with their American counterparts to come to a
negotiated settlement.

Jean Perrault, President of the FCM and the Mayor of Sherbrooke, Que. Stated “Today, Canada’s cities and communities joined federal and provincial governments in a common front to try and stop American protectionism.

It was municipalities like Halton Hills that pushed this issue to the top of the national agenda. We did it by pointing to the damage that protectionism can do, not just to trading relations, but to communities and their residents”.

Municipalities across the country from Conception Bay South, NFLD to Surrey, BC supported the resolution as well as our neighbouring communities of Halton Region, Brampton and Caledon.

The Town of Halton Hills is supportive of its business community and this action emphasizes this pro-active attitude in assisting the business community to prosper and expand.

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