Seafood, dairy dig in heels on free-trade deal
• It was a rare show of bipartisan mirth as the Liberals and Conservatives both stood in the House of Commons Monday to applaud the apparent conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union.
But as Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland hugged it out with her predecessor, Ed Fast, on the Commons floor, some concerns over Canada’s trade deal with Europe lingered, including the impact of 17,000 tonnes of fine European cheese will have on Canadian markets.
The deal was signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and EU leadership in Brussels Sunday, but a few irritants threaten to cause stinks on both sides of the Atlantic during the deal’s ratification process.
In Canada, those smelly items include cheese and seafood.
Before t abling i mplementing legislation Monday, Freeland told reporters she was still working to hammer out the compensation being offered to “industries that might face a particular impact.”
“We’re absolutely committed to doing that,” she said. “We’re working hard in finalizing those packages now.”
The Dairy Farmers of Canada group said in a statement Monday it is “eager to see how the government is going to fulfil its promise of a mitigation and compensation package,” since it expected to lose $116 million after CETA takes effect. A similar message came from Quebec’s dairy producers.
Some were less concerned with the fate of the dairy industry. “They could’ve gotten a lot worse on this last round of trade deals,” said Jason Langrish of the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business. “They will probably get some kind of arrangement, even though I don’t think they should get anything. It’s a racket, and frankly, the cheese in Canada’s not even good.”
Langrish said there’s a “new world” emerging where agricultural producers need to be able to compete inter- nationally, so the European market of about 500 million people will offer that test for Canadian businesses.
Meanwhile, it appeared Monday that Newfoundland and Labrador was still waiting to find out if it would be compensated for letting go of minimum processing requirements for seafood, a condition imposed by Europe in exchange for eliminating quotas.
A “fisheries innovation fund” had been announced in 2013, made up of $280 million in federal money and another $ 120 million from the province. But a spat between both governments appeared to threaten the deal.
Trudeau reportedly supported Newfoundland’s position at the time, but his federal Liberal government hasn’t clarified whether that money is still available. Earlier this month, Newfoundland’s business minister told The Telegram newspaper he wouldn’t give in on processing requirements without compensation.
The Canadian government didn’t immediately respond to a query about how that would be resolved.
Once Canada and the EU both pass ratification by majority vote in their parliaments, more than 90 per cent of CETA can go into effect. That includes slashing tariffs, but also establishing common regulations to get rid of other trade barriers.
Few issues are expected with ratification at the European Parliament, planned for December. Ratification votes in each individual state could be bumpy, however.
Canada gave Romania and Bulgaria what they asked for Monday as it announced visafree travel for those countries’ citizens starting Dec. 1, 2017.
But one of the sticking points for Wallonia, the Belgian region, and a major one for Canada’s NDP, which opted out of the parliamentary standing ovation Monday — remains unresolved.
Belgian regions said in a declaration Thursday they wouldn’t ratify CETA if investor- state dispute provisions remain as- is. An investor court, designed to arbitrate disputes in an impartial way, was the major change Liberals negotiated.