Progress made on NAFTA talks
MINISTERS HOPE TO GET DEAL MADE
The latest round of NAFTA negotiations has wrapped up with the three countries saying they’ve managed to make some progress.
The three lead ministers told a closing news conference in Mexico City that they’re still aiming to get a deal by year’s end.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, repeatedly stressed that it’s normal for the major sticking points to remain unresolved at this point in the process.
She said the countries have worked through the easier issues, and have tabled texts, and have had a chance to learn each other’s priorities.
“I want to reiterate: This is Day 20,” Freeland said. “This is an extremely accelerated process. This is Day 20 of an accelerated and extremely comprehensive negotiation .... We are running fast for (an agreement by) the end of the year.”
U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer, who said two dozen chapter texts have been tabled, also thanked his North American neighbours for their best wishes in the wake of a devastating hurricane in Texas and Louisiana.
Lighthizer, who reiterated some of his tough-talk remarks from the opening round, nonetheless struck a less aggressive tone.
“Our work continues at a record pace,” he said.
“By the end of this round, we will have tabled text for over two dozen chapters. These chapters represent a new modern agreement which, once concluded, will support robust economic growth in North America for decades to come.”
The agreements reached so far relate to less-controversial parts of the agreement.
Multiple sources say the countries have not even begun dealing with the more complex elements — and that any attempts to raise a contentious issue have been brushed off by the other parties.
That’s true of Canadian proposals like some labour reforms that have been declared a non-starter by the U.S.
It’s also true of the U.S. desire to secure more dairy sales in Canada. The U.S. tried informally starting the conversation, and sources say Canada pushed it off.
Animal-welfare groups have renewed their calls for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in Montreal after another horse collapsed in the street over the long weekend.
The animal was found lying on its side Monday in front of a square in Old Montreal that is popular with tourists.
Witnesses say the horse was able to get back on its feet after about 10 minutes.
The City of Montreal recently adopted new rules to protect the welfare of horses working in the city’s caleche industry.
Last year, Mayor Denis Coderre tried to place a oneyear moratorium on the popular tourist draw after several accidents involving caleche horses were caught on camera.
That decision was later reversed after a judge ruled the carriages should be allowed to continue operating.
But Mirella Colalillo, a spokeswoman for a group opposed to caleche horses, said Tuesday the animal that collapsed should not even have been working.
“We’ve seen her pulling carriages loaded with people all summer, and she’s very skinny,” said Colalillo of the AntiCaleche Defense Coalition.
“She’s an old horse that needs to be retired.”
She also criticized the city’s new bylaw, pointing out that many of the horses are over 15 years old.
“It doesn’t say anything about the age limit of the horses, it doesn’t address the drivers or the owners, they don’t need to know anything about horses, they can just drive a caleche and not know anything,” she said.