Germany’s Merkel now leads a lonely fight for liberal democracy
OTTAWA—Just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House stands the news museum. Perhaps its most impressive exhibit, right inside the front door, is the stark concrete tower that once held armed guards trained to shoot East Germans escaping to West Berlin. I couldn’t help thinking about that reminder of totalitarian oppression in the lead-up to […]
CETA sets a new standard for progressive trade
History has shown that trade is the best way to create good, well-paying jobs, help businesses and entrepreneurs become more competitive, and drive economic growth. Canada’s historical commitment to open trade policies and markets has helped build our strong middle class, and given our population the opportunity to have a major impact on the world. […]
Does China trade deal line up with ‘Canadian values’? Feds want to know
It’s not just Conservative MP Kellie Leitch who wants to talk about Canadian values; Canada’s foreign ministry is looking for public submissions on just that topic as part of an online consultation on the prospect of a free trade deal with China. The consultations launched with little fanfare March 4, with a webpage and online […]
Fostering Canada’s economic prosperity is about more than trade agreements
Canada has negotiated and signed a number of free trade agreements over the last few decades, up to the recent Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union in 2016. In an evolving and increasingly competitive global marketplace, we must continue to negotiate and implement trade agreements which respond effectively to the needs of […]
Wanted: Canada’s special trade representative
The ‘tweaking’ of the North American Free Trade Agreement is about to begin. President Donald Trump has unveiled his trade policy before Congress, and Peter Navarro, the director of the White House National Trade Council, has similarly outlined the administration’s trade priorities. With speculation that the Trump administration could formally notify Congress of its desire […]
Canadian jobs on the line as Liberals play catch-up on trade
With projected Liberal deficits until 2055 our country cannot afford a second-place finish when it comes to our trade policy. It takes the execution of a plan and commitment to a forward direction that separates followers from the leaders. Unfortunately, those currently in charge of Canada’s trade policy have been lacking just that: forward direction […]
Trade policy about more than just reminders to export
Historically, free trade agreements were regarded as self-evidently beneficial; no efforts were needed to prepare Canadians for their effects. Experience, however, has taught us otherwise. Of the 12 free trade agreements to which Canada is a signatory and have come into force, seven of them have seen our merchandise balance of trade worsen with our respective […]
A TPP by any other name: Japan fighting to keep ‘elements’ of the zombie trade deal, in one form or another: ambassador
Japan is now ready to talk about a pan-Pacific trade deal without the United States, says the country’s ambassador, marking a near-reversal of its official position from late last year. But any country that wants to make a deal must be ready to meet the terms laid out in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which remains Japan’s […]
Liberal trade record a concern as Canada embarks on NAFTA negotiations
Trade between Canada and the U.S. is well-balanced, highly integrated, and has far-reaching implications on all industries. Canada and the U.S. are the world’s largest trading partners, with almost $900-billion in goods and services crossing the border annually and millions of jobs dependant on trade with the U.S. Yet here we sit: waiting for NAFTA renegotiations […]
Free appendectomies, Timbits, and now Canadians can also boast we beat America at democracy
MONTREAL—It says something about the state of democracy that the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2016 Democracy Index, published just over a month ago, is already a dead web page, or at least it was for me recently when I found a sad “We’re sorry. We can’t find the page you were looking for.” I ended up […]
