Canada’s premiers focus on economy, NAFTA

Notley promises to continue her push for pipelines

Pipelines became a secondary discussion for Canada’s premiers Tuesday at the Council of the Federation meeting in Edmonton, with the economy and North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations top of mind.

Making it extra tough was the absence of British Columbia Premier John Horgan, who was being sworn in at the same moment the rest of Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders sat around a table at the Hotel MacDonald.

Horgan is firmly opposed to pipelines, but Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Tuesday she’s looking forward to taking up the issue — along with others, including softwood lumber and the opioid crisis — at a later date.

As Tuesday’s meeting wrapped, Notley reiterated her position that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has already been approved and it’s now up to the courts to hear challenges.

“What we want to do is talk to all of our neighbours when construction begins ... (about) greater benefits to Albertans, to Canadians, by ensuring we diversify what we ship, as well as take every advantage to work on diversifying our energy sector as a whole,” Notley said.

The focus of Tuesday’s meeting was economy and trade, particularly with NAFTA renegotiations looming in August.

Before speaking with premiers, David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., told reporters Ottawa will push for a timely resolution to NAFTA talks, but won’t rush into a bad deal.

MacNaughton said he’s hearing about a cooled investment climate across the country as questions swirl around the future of NAFTA.

“To get a clarification of the trade relationship sooner rather than later would be better,” he said.

“Having said that … we’re ready to sit down and work on this negotiation for as long as it takes to get something that’s good for Canadians.”

MacNaughton wouldn’t weigh into what exactly is on or off the table, saying drawing a line in the sand or negotiating in public would be unhelpful.

However, he said Canada would try to push the U.S. to create a fairer government procurement system and reiterated the need for a balanced dispute-resolution mechanism.

He was also firm that Canada would continue to defend supply management in the agricultural sector.

“The U.S. dairy industry is heavily subsidized and heavily protected … so if they want to start talking about opening up agriculture markets, we’re happy to talk to them,” he said.

On Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall had raised the possibility of penning a list of retaliatory measures to keep in Canada’s back pocket should negotiations go off the rails.

Notley rebuffed that proposal Tuesday, saying it’s more important to keep building relationships with allies across the border and continue peddling the message that trade benefits both nations.

“The trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada is complex and mutually dependent and there’s nary a string that can be pulled … without pulling out the whole sweater,” she said.

“In fact, what we need to do is build on our strengths, not take it apart.”

On Wednesday, premiers are set to discuss marijuana and the opioid crisis.