With MPs set to start their holiday recess soon, concerns are mounting in both British government and Canadian business circles about the House of Commons failing to pass implementation legislation for the new Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement before existing trade rules expire.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng introduced bill C-18 on Wednesday. While her officials said they’re still hoping it will pass quickly, the government has not sought unanimous consent from the opposition parties to approve the bill at all stages quickly before the Commons begins its scheduled winter break — which is now expected to happen tomorrow.
British officials reached out to CBC News Thursday to offer their responses on background to reports that the legislation may not be passed in time for the agreement to come into effect on Jan. 1, when Canada’s preferential trade deal with the European Union ceases to apply to the now-independent U.K.
The U.K. government was said to be both concerned and disappointed that Canada was not in a position to honour the commitment it made when an agreement-in-principle was announced last month by the prime ministers of both countries.
The British suggested Canadian parliamentarians were not taking this seriously enough. MPs were urged to put politics aside and pull together to make sure damage and disruption were not inflicted on the business community, something the U.K. views as unacceptable.
The British department of trade was said to have moved significant resources quickly this fall to work with Canada’s timeline. It was said to be working with the Canadian government to understand the problem and to deal with it.
In an apparent reference to comments Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made previously questioning the British government’s “bandwidth” to negotiate trade deals, U.K. officials told CBC News that, in fact, the British system has shown it has the “bandwidth” and is ready to move forward with implementing legislation at the same pace as Canada.
But despite its readiness, the U.K. cannot apply the agreement provisionally on its own. So it’s warning that there may not be a deal in place by the end of the year. The British were said to be working to understand what they can do to put emergency arrangements in place.
Unlike Canada’s finance department, the U.K. government apparently cannot issue remission orders to, for example, protect importers from having to pay duties until the agreement is ratified. With no similar tool in use, some Canadian exports could be taxed in the U.K. as of Jan.1.
‘Recovery depends on trade’
CBC News asked Ng Thursday for her response to the British blaming Canada for taking too long to implement their agreement.
“The work isn’t done,” Ng said. “Both the U.K. trade secretary and myself … Canada and the United Kingdom are committed to, within a year of this agreement’s ratification, to get back to the negotiating table and to pursue the discussions on a comprehensive, bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and Canada.
“I want to assure Canadian businesses that we are going to work very hard to make sure that there is a smooth transition for them and that they don’t experience disruptions as they export into the United Kingdom.”
Boris Johnson’s government is said to be concerned and disappointed that Canadian parliamentarians have not passed C-18, the legislation to implement the Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement. (Francisco Seco/The Associated Press)
The vast majority of Canada’s exports can enter the U.K. duty-free, under World Trade Organization rules.
But Canadian business groups fear there’s no plan in place to keep the promise Ng made to mitigate any damage.
Five organizations — the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters — issued a public statement today calling on parliamentarians to work across party lines to implement the interim agreement and avoid disrupting trade with their largest partner in Europe.
The groups welcomed the government’s stated intention to negotiate an ambitious and permanent trade deal starting next year. “But for now, job number one should be to limit supply chain disruptions and ensure there are no negative consequences at the end of the year,” the statement said. “As a trading nation, our road to economic recovery depends on trade.”
Canadian products that could face tariffs include lobster, maple syrup, beef, certain plastics, some trucks and other automotive vehicles.
Committee calls for more study
This warning from business groups came on the same day the Commons trade committee issued an interim report based on its pre-study of a potential transitional trade agreement with the U.K.
Among its recommendations was a call for the government to “immediately announce the scenarios it is considering” for ratification, or to offer a “detailed articulation” of what Canadian exporters can expect and what support will be provided in the event there’s no ratification before the deadline.
At the same time, the committee called for the insertion of a sunset clause in the agreement to ensure that Parliament can revisit its terms, whether or not a subsequent permanent bilateral agreement is reached.
What we know about the interim Canada–U.K. trade deal:
The two countries have agreed to ‘roll over’ the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). 5:35
MPs called for more time to study the final text of the agreement before making a decision on its implementation bill.
The final text was only published on Wednesday, after it was tabled by Ng immediately prior to the introduction of C-18.
The committee also asked for more public consultation and reports to parliamentarians during any future talks.
Irish border concerns
On Tuesday, the Commons foreign affairs committee unanimously passed a motion proposed by NDP MP Jack Harris that recognized that the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union could affect the Good Friday Agreement — a treaty that Canada helped broker to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
“The committee calls on the government to ensure that any post-Brexit trade deal between Canada and the United Kingdom be consistent with the principles of the Good Friday Agreement,” the motion read, while calling on the government to table a “comprehensive response.”
The NDP’s trade critic, Daniel Blaikie, is expected to table the same motion at the Commons trade committee on Friday.
MPs expressed concern that the British government’s Brexit proposal could have created a “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, disrupting the free flow of goods and people that the Good Friday Agreement was meant to protect. Such a violation could inflame sectarian tensions or even violence.
The Friends of Sinn Fein organization reached out to CBC News Wednesday to identify the border issue as a consideration for MPs as they consider the Canada–U.K. trade legislation.
It did not reply to a subsequent question from CBC News about whether it has been lobbying the government of Canada on the Irish border issue.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
