McKenna reports progress in discussions with China on environmental concerns

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says Canada and China made good progress this week on environmental laws and regulations that are among the barriers to launching official free-trade talks.

McKenna was in China as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trade mission, as well as for meetings of her own aimed largely at connecting Canadian clean-tech companies with Chinese enterprises.

Some Canadian businesses fear less-stringent Chinese regulations and laws could make it harder for them to compete in a free trade environment.

McKenna said Canada has made clear the environment is one of its key issues ahead of launching formal free-trade talks with China, but she doesn’t think it will be a deal-breaker.

“I think that is an area we’ve made very good progress over the past few years,” she said.

“I think that’s one area where I think we have a lot of common ground, and I think we can certainly build on that should we enter into formal trade negotiations. I think both Canada and China see that as a win-win.”

McKenna said she believes China is committed to combating climate change and improving environmental protection, pointing to its commitment to the Paris climate accord, its recent development of a national emissions market for carbon-heavy industries, and even its commencement of a Chinese national parks system.

She said there are will be ministerial-level discussions between Canada and China on climate change and clean-technology growth.

Intellectual property protections will be among the issues critical for Canadian clean-tech companies and are something McKenna said a free-trade agreement could help protect.