Trudeau touts trade in visit to Italy

Deal can create jobs, economic growth, PM says

ROME • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is praising the benefits that international trade can bring to a world where people are anxious about the future.

In a speech to Italian parliamentarians in Rome Tuesday, Trudeau held up the trade deal between Canada and the European Union as an example of an agreement that can both create new jobs and ensure more people can benefit from economic growth.

“We are proud of it, and you should be, too,” Trudeau said in his address to 45 parl i amentarians and other dignitaries in the Sala della Regina, or the Queen’s Room, a majestic committee room at the Chamber of Deputies in the Italian parliament. “It will create the kind of growth that benefits all our citizens, not just our wealthiest.”

The t rade agreement, known as CETA, i s now being considered by the Italian senate.

Trudeau thanked the Italian parliamentarians who supported the deal, and said it would not have been possible without the support of “like- minded” leaders like Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the Liberal government hoped to bring other countries onside with trade by making it “real” for people.

Trudeau is in Italy to promote trade and cultural ties between the two countries at the end of a trip to Europe that included the NATO meeting in Brussels, the G7 Summit in Sicily and a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

On Tuesday, Trudeau was introduced with glowing remarks by Laura Boldrini, president of the Chamber of Deputies, noting his efforts at fighting climate change.

Speaking in Italian, she said the issue cannot be solved with simplistic solutions within the confines of a single country. “The biggest challenge can’t be tackled alone,” she said.

Pietro Grasso, president of the Senate, expressed concern over the “isolationism and protectionist sentiment” that was heard at the G7 summit.

Trudeau addressed the anxiety that people around the world are facing as “the twin forces of technology and globalization” that are changing everything, and quickly. But he argued that this could bring solutions to problems like climate change.

“All these things are possible if we shape the great forces of change to deliver progress for people,” Trudeau said. “That’s what progressive leadership does in moments like this.”

“Leaders who think we can hide from these changes, or turn back the clock, are wrong,” he said.

“It’s our responsibility to harness these changes and make them work for people.”