Canada announces CUSMA advisory council
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — Ahead of this summer’s review of an important North American trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Tuesday a new committee meant to ensure Canada gets the best deal.
The PMO on Tuesday released a list of the 24 members of the new Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations, a list of familiar names representing a number of key industries and sectors, including business, trade, politics, investment and labour — tasked with advising the government in this summer’s review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) free trade agreement.
Visit cat-cross.com for more information.
“I”m very pleased to have that group,” Carney told reporters Tuesday morning outside of this party’s cabinet meeting in West Block on Parliament Hill. “It’s a diverse group with leaders from the union movement, experts in industry, and CEOs in finance and across the economy.”
Diverse names on committee
The new committee, which will be chaired by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, includes such names as Teck Resources president Jonathan Price, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) CEO Tabatha Bull, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe, Unifor president Lana Payne, CN Rail president Tracy Robinson, and Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Candace Laing.
A number of political leaders were also named to the committee, including former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, former Tory Leader Erin O’Toole, former Tory Cabinet Minister Lisa Raitt, Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok, former Liberal MP and UK High Commissioner Ralph Goodale, and Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault.
The committee will hold its first meeting on April 27.
“This Advisory Committee will help us stay closely connected to the perspectives of key sectors, support effective outreach, and strengthen Canada’s position as we establish a new economic and security relationship with the United States,” LeBlanc said in a statement furnished by the PMO.
Set to begin July 1, the review of CUSMA will require Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to decide if they want to renew the treaty.
If all three nations agree, the deal could be re-ratified until 2042, with the next review scheduled to happen in 2032 — but that seems unlikely, with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer saying in April there’s little chance of Canada and the U.S. hashing out their trade issues before July 1.
Without unanimous consent, the deal will be subject to annual reviews until its expiry in 2036.