TRUDEAU HERALDS NEW TRADE PACT WITHOUT THE US
▶ Canadian PM also takes aim at gender discrimination and sexual harassment at work
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a new Trans-Pacific trade deal would create “well-paying middle-class jobs for decades to come” even without the US in a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.
Mr Trudeau told the World Economic Forum that 10 countries had reached a “comprehensive and progressive” Trans-Pacific Partnership in Tokyo with mainly Asian countries.
The agreement revived a pact from which Washington withdrew after US President Donald Trump’s election.
Mr Trudeau repeatedly said that there was risk if the benefits of economic growth were not felt by all, noting “the ripple effect of economic uncertainty play out around the world”.
“Too many corporations have single-mindedly put the pursuit of profit ahead of the well-being of workers,” he said.
Mr Trudeau made gender equality and sexual harassment central tenets of his speech, calling for the “hiring, promoting and retaining of more women” in business. He said that parity between the sexes could add $1.75 trillion to the US gross domestic product.
Mr Trudeau reminded the audience that his government had brought in Canada’s first cabinet of gender parity, and the performance of his female ministers has been a success.
He said the gender equality in the workplace required “willingness to change the nature of work as we know it”.
Referring to recent campaigns against sexual assault, including the #MeToo campaign, he said: “These movements show us we must have a critical discussion on women’s rights, equality and the power dynamics of gender.
“Sexual harassment in business and government is a systemic problem and is unacceptable. As leaders, we must recognise and act to truly show that time is up.”
Mr Trudeau’s office had also billed the speech as a preview to the G7 summit, set to take place this year in Quebec. He said that gender equality would be the “priority of everything the G7 does later this year”.
But not all are convinced by Mr Trudeau’s track record. Jamie Drummond, executive director of the development group One, told The Guardian’s live blog: “It’s so exasperating that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make another great speech today while the facts point in a shocking direction.
“Smart aid rates under Trudeau are lower than under his conservative predecessor Stephen Harper; the money he loudly promised would be new to fight aids, TB and malaria was in fact not new; and his feminist foreign policy is not backed by new funds.
“This can and must change now.
“And if Davos doesn’t pressure leaders like Trudeau to be the best they can be, or hold them accountable, this gathering is a self-defeating backslapping waste of time the world doesn’t have.”