Saskatchewan’s provincial government said no thanks 10 months ago, and now Yukon has rejected the controversial Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement.

TILMA is a joint B.C.–Alberta initiative that came into effect April 1, 2007, with no debate in the B.C. legislature. Legislation to implement the agreement died on the order paper as Bill 17 in the fall, before B.C. economic-development minister Colin Hansen reintroduced it in the spring as Bill 32. It was forced through the legislature on May 29, the last day of the session, again with no debate.

On June 4, the Yukon government announced it will not join TILMA.

“Yukon remains committed to eliminating existing internal trade barriers and will work through the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) to address those issues,” Yukon premier Dennis Fentie said in a news release. “We will continue to encourage business investment from other jurisdictions and we support Yukon businesses who venture beyond our borders.”

According to the release, Fentie’s government concluded after “a thorough analysis” that one of the challenges associated with joining TILMA included possible difficulties involved in implementing the recommendations of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board and the large costs of dispute resolution.

On August 1, 2007, Saskatchewan’s then–government relations minister, Harry Van Mulligen, stated in a news release: “After careful study the government has concluded that [TILMA] is not for Saskatchewan.”

Carleen Pickard, B.C.–Yukon regional organizer for the Council of Canadians, issued a news release on May 29 expressing the citizens’ group’s “outrage” at the lack of debate in the B.C. legislature.

“It is incredible that there has been no discussion on an agreement that will lower standards across the two provinces and undermine local government autonomy,” Pickard said in the release.