Canada-EU free-trade deal expected by 2011: Quebec representative
Canadian Press, Canada
Canada-EU free-trade deal expected by 2011: Quebec representative
17 November 2009
(CP) MONTREAL — A former Quebec premier involved in Canada-Europe free-trade negotiations predicts a deal will be signed by 2011.
Pierre Marc Johnson, who led Quebec for a short time in 1985, says negotiations are going well and he wouldn’t be surprised if a deal is reached sooner than later.
He foresees a wide-ranging agreement that goes beyond NAFTA since the provinces are at the negotiating table this time on matters of provincial and shared jurisdiction.
He admits Canada has more to gain from the free trade deal than Europe does.
At the end of the day, he expects Canada to see a 0.77 per cent increase in gross domestic product, compared with 0.08 per cent for Europe.
