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Kyra Bell-Pasht April 16, 2013

Local Food Procurement: Trade Agreement Restrictions in Ontario Obstacles & Opportunities. Kyra Bell-Pasht April 16, 2013. Local Food Procurement in context. Trade agreements are on the rise

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Kyra Bell-Pasht April 16, 2013

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  1. Local Food Procurement: Trade Agreement Restrictions in Ontario Obstacles & Opportunities Kyra Bell-Pasht April 16, 2013

  2. Local Food Procurement in context • Trade agreements are on the rise • Under which foreign companies granted broad rights, enforceable before trade tribunals (‘ISDS mechanisms’) • e.g. the right to nondiscrimination of products on the basis of geographic origin • Companies increasingly exercising these rights ($$ litigation) • Limiting regulation in the public interest (i.e. for environmental & local development purposes) (‘chill’) • Environmental & food systems concerns are equally on the rise  one solution: local food procurement • Understanding trade agreement restrictions is key to developing effective local food procurement policies

  3. Canadian Trade Agreements: Ontario Ontario is affected by many trade agreements that potentially restrict its procurement activities, e.g.: • The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) • The Agreement on Government Procurement (AGP) • The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • The Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) And that may affect its procurement activities, e.g.: • Canada and European Union Trade Agreement (CETA) • Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)

  4. Procurement: Trade Restrictions & Allowances • Monetary thresholds • lowest for Ontario, $25,000, $100,000 MASH Sector (AIT) • n.b. No splitting to avoid trade agreement restrictions • Exceptions (environmental, government purpose, etc.) • n.b. Interpreted narrowly • Covered entities (Federal, Provincial, Municipal, MASH) • n.b. Toronto City Council motion for exemption from CETA (app. 50 similar Canadian municipal motions to date) • Technical specifications permitted • But not if designed to avoid trade agreement provisions

  5. Examples of Local Food Procurement policies: United Kingdom • Subject to GATT & GPA procurement provisions • EU directives guide EU procurement policies,  Emphasis on technical specifications Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative, 2003 • encourages public bodies (hospitals, schools, prisons, and canteens) to procure food in a manner that considers the principles of sustainable development(sustainability criteria) • specify fresh & seasonal produce in their tenders for food • break larger contracts into lots

  6. Examples of Local Food Procurement policies: Nova Scotia • Subject to AIT Environmental Goals & Sustainable Prosperity Act, ‘07 ∙ province to develop draft procurement policy by 2009: “Nova Scotia Preference” “In order to support the local manufacturing, agriculture and aquaculture industries, Departments are authorized to apply a preference for goods up to and including $10,000 excluding taxes, which are manufactured or produced in Nova Scotia, when it is determined to be in the best interest for the Province of Nova Scotia “

  7. Ontario Local Food Procurement Local Food Plus • Local sustainable food certification, broker & consultant, have assisted • Markham, 1st Ontario municipality to develop local food procurement policy, originally %10 LFP, then %5 increase/year • University of Toronto, local food procurement policy, originally 10% LFP, incr. annually

  8. Ontario Local Food Procurement, Broader Public Sector Investment Fund • Grant program that supports increased amounts of local food served in hospitals, schools, and other broader public sector institutions • City of Toronto Local Food Procurement Policy • 2008, goal was %50 • 2011, goal adjusted to %25 in 7 years • Report of lessons learned

  9. Ontario Local Food Procurement Bill 36, Ontario’s Local Food Act • Government Bill that just passed 2nd reading “increasing awareness, access and sales by enabling the government to set local food goals and targets, in consultation with stakeholders” • Possibility for local food procurement targets? Ontario Local Food Policy: requiring ministries to consider local food procurements under $25,000

  10. Conclusions • Technical specifications • policies for food procurements that fall below monetary thresholds • Focus on the MASH sector • support non-profit organizations to facilitate procurement deals with the public sector

  11. Acknowledgements Thanks to: Sustain Ontario Kyra Bell-Pasht, Counsel kyra@cela.ca N.B. none of the information provided in this presentation consists of legal advice, and should not be relied on as such.

  12. www.cela.ca

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