Deputy prime minister asks Opposition not to delay new NAFTA

OTTAWA — Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is asking the Opposition parties not to hold up the new North American free trade deal.

Freeland has sent a letter to the leaders of the Conservatives, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Greens on the eve of the return of the House of Commons asking for their support.

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is the Liberal government’s first priority and Freeland says no one expects anything less than a full, frank and vigorous debate.

But she says that politics should be put aside in favour of the interests of Canadians, and that Parliament should work together to get the deal done.

The Bloc Quebecois and NDP have signalled that they’re in no rush to finalize the continental trade pact, which has already been ratified by the United States and Mexico.

The Conservatives say they don’t want to play games with the legislation, but want to study what impacts it will have and how the government will mitigate them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2020.

The Canadian Press