Work to do

Premiers meeting in D.C. on NAFTA sidestep elephant in room

Canada’s premiers are gathered in Washington, trying their best to work around the elephant in the room.

Premiers from eight provinces and territories are in town for meetings related to the upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Those meetings are happen ing with the U.S. capital trans fixed by political scandal: peope were filling bars to watch former FBI director James Comey testify about his interactions with the president who fired him.

Still, there is important work to do, and people need to proceed under the assumption that NAFTA negotiations will happen – and that they will happen under President Donald Trump, said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

The political uncertainty in the U.S. has added an element of unpredictability, but it’s the job of policy-makers to prepare for an important renegotiation, Wynne said in an interview Thursday.

“That’s our job – whatever other political uncertainty is at play, it does introduce an element of unpredictability into the situation,” she said. “But it doesn’t change our job ... We have to carry on as if this is going to be a straightforward process, and make it as straightforward a process as possible.”

While Comey testifies about the president attempting to pressure him over Russia-related matters, the premiers are meeting with people from Congress and the administration.

Wynne said she is hopeful about what she’s heard in Washington: people she’s spoken to favour a modest modernizing of NAFTA, not a full-scale overhaul.

CP PHOTO Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, one of eight premiers in Washington for meetings on NAFTA, says she’s had some encouraging discussions that suggest people there want an update to the trade agreement rather than a drastic overhaul.