Prime Minister Trudeau has left China without securing the start of free trade talks with the world’s second-largest economy and he concedes that this may be because he wants the Chinese to adopt a “progressive” agenda that includes the environment, labour, gender and governance issues. Mr. Trudeau said the two countries need to address how Canada deals with China’s state-owned enterprises. Separately, he also said he is committed to standing up for Canadian values in a “respectful way,” including protecting the interests of Canadians behind bars.“Canadians should be under no illusions that a free trade deal with China will be easy.”
“CANADA CAN’T GET ANYTHING DONE”
WenranJiang, director of the Canada-China Energy and Environment Forum, said the delay in starting the talks “will only further convince the Chinese side that Canada can’t get anything done We can’t build a pipeline to the west coast when every reason is there to get it done.” He offered a bitter view of Canadian diplomacy saying this was “a country of complacency, without pressure to compete with others; we tend to think we have all the high moral grounds on gender, environment, labour while others are inferior to us.”
EXCHANGE ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Don Valley West MP Rob Oliphant was chairing the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration Thursday when Conservative MP Michelle Rempel questioned the MInister Ahmed D. Hussen, the member of York South-Weston. Rempel and Hussen engaged in long exchange in which Rempel clearly felt she was not getting a committment from the minister to ensure that a condemnation of female genital mutilation would be included in the forthcoming Canada Citizenship Guide. Facebook
