Tories blasted for secrecy in trade talks

OTTAWA— New Democrats and Liberals decried the secrecy surrounding Canada’s bid to join a huge Pacific Rim free-trade zone, setting the stage for a sharp battle with the Conservatives over trade in the last stage of the Oct. 19 campaign.

The two parties took aim at Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s decision to send a representative to closed-door talks on the new trade pact in the midst of the Canadian election.

International Trade Minister Ed Fast is taking part this week in negotiations in Atlanta, Ga., that could, if completed, bind Ottawa to a freetrade deal with wide-ranging implications for Canadians. NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair raised the stakes in the growing controversy about Canada’s involvement in the talks, saying the Conservative government “has no mandate to sign a trade deal three weeks before election day. They can stay at the talks and ensure Canada’s interests are represented, but a government that should be gone in days can’t sign a deal that will affect Canadians for years to come,” he said in a statement.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could open a massive new export market for Canada. But there are concerns that, in the horse-trading to finish the deal, Ottawa could make concessions leading to job losses in the auto industry, reduced protections for dairy farmers and pharmaceutical rules that will drive up prescription drug costs. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said: “One of the things that we’ve seen over the past years with this government is an approach that has been secretive, non-transparent, that hasn’t let Canadians know what it is negotiating and how it is negotiating, what is on the table.”

The Conservatives say it’s necessary to participate in the TPP talks, which could reach a tentative conclusion within days.