OTTAWA – Details of a tentative free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union will be released this later morning, but some provinces are already raising concerns about the fine print.
The provinces have had summaries of the deal for several days and the most vocal about the deal is Ontario.
Ontario Economic Development Minister Eric Hoskins says he’s concerned about the effects on the province’s pharmaceutical, dairy, wine and spirits industries.
Read more: Will new trade pact with EU create jobs — or see them vanish?
Hoskins says although Ontario will support the agreement, it will seek compensation from the federal government for those sectors.
The Quebec government says it will wait until today to offer its response to the deal, which could impact the province’s large dairy industry.
Read more: Saskatchewan farmers react to EU trade deal
The deal allows European cheese producers to more than double their shipments into Canada while creating a European quota of close to 70-thousand tonnes for hormone-free beef from Canada.
That’s expected to be worth one-billion dollars to Canada’s beef farmers.
Read more: Canada-EU trade agreement could be most significant since NAFTA, says expert
Federal officials are touting the deal, saying they expect it will result in the creation of some 80-thousand jobs.
- What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
- Capital gains changes are ‘really fair,’ Freeland says, as doctors cry foul
- Ontario doctors offer solutions to help address shortage of family physicians
- Budget 2024 failed to spark ‘political reboot’ for Liberals, polling suggests
Comments