Canada-EU pact won’t include free labour movement

Negotiations toward a new pact between Canada and the European Union do not include full free movement of labour, Canada’s ambassador to the EU said ahead of this week’s Canada-EU summit in Montreal, but they do cover access to shared labour pools in certain specialized areas.

Jonathan Wilkinson, who became ambassador in Brussels earlier this year after more than five years in the federal cabinet, told The Canadian Press in an interview that the labour talks focus on sectors where employers on both sides could benefit, CTV News reported. Any measures making it easier for workers and students to move between the two jurisdictions need to be approached in a thoughtful way, he said.

Wilkinson did not name specific sectors. He pointed to existing work on mutual accreditation for architects as an example, and said Canada has also discussed joining Erasmus+, the EU’s student exchange program.

The summit, set for Oct. 29 and 30, is expected to produce a new agreement that could touch on labour, critical minerals and energy. Wilkinson said energy and critical minerals, including natural gas, hydrogen and nuclear power, will play a central role in the closer partnership. We reported earlier that both sides were eyeing alliance deals for the meeting.

The shape of the pact has been unclear even to those involved, The Canadian Press reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in September that a new alliance could make Canada an associate member of the 27-country bloc. No such status exists in the EU, and Canadian officials have downplayed the term. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the deal an alliance of the future.

The summit falls on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA. Nine EU members have not yet ratified it: France, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Hungary. Wilkinson said he has spoken with counterparts from all 27 member states and expects a number of countries to move toward ratification in the coming months, without naming any.

Asked about French politics, where National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is the current polling favourite to succeed President Emmanuel Macron this spring, Wilkinson said the EU is a much bigger project than any one government and that Europeans will find their way through.

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