Ontario, Quebec seal free trade
CanWest News Service | 27 November 2007
Ontario, Quebec seal free trade
Quebec Premier Jean Charest and his Ontario counterpart, Premier Dalton McGuinty, announced a plan yesterday to negotiate an interprovincial free- trade agreement.
With a high dollar, Quebec and Ontario want to remove interprovincial trade barriers at a time when manufacturers are having a tough time exporting their goods south of the border. Both provinces again called upon Prime Minister Stephen Harper to step in and do his share to help manufacturers.
Ontario is Quebec’s second-largest trade partner, just behind the United States. McGuinty stressed their bilateral trade of $70 million a year represents 30 per cent of overall Canadian interprovincial trade. "We are building on that strong foundation to sign this historic agreement," McGuinty said at a news conference in Toronto.
"It’s a great step forward and we have to work together to improve our trade relationship," Charest said.
The premiers also addressed the long-standing problem of labour mobility.
An initial deal was signed in 2006 and yesterday’s agreement is aimed at drafting a final agreement to remove barriers to trade and labour mobility. Quebec and Ontario agreed to each name a negotiator to come up with a final agreement "shortly." No precise timetable was offered.
