GHY Tradelines

(Mike Godfrey – Tax-News.com)

Canadian ministers have been promoting the European Union (EU) trade agreement currently under negotiation, telling Quebec manufacturers and exporters that they can only benefit from the deal.

International Trade Minister Ed Fast, accompanied by Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture), took part in a roundtable session with the Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ). The EU is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, and according to Paradis: “Increasing Quebec’s exports to the mass EU market will create new jobs and new opportunities for workers and business throughout Quebec.” Read more here.
 

(The Canadian Press)

‘I don’t think we should give up’ certain principles, Parti Québécois premier says in London

Quebec could throw a monkey wrench into any free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union if it’s not satisfied with the treaty’s contents, Premier Pauline Marois warned Monday.

The Parti Quebecois leader told a news conference the province could enact laws or regulations to make it difficult to implement a Canada-EU treaty if it believes there has been an encroachment on provincial jurisdiction.

“At one point, when it comes to certain principles with which we are unable to live or agreements that have an impact on our market that is unacceptable, well, I don’t think we should give up,” Marois said.

Such deals are just another reason why Quebec needs to be sovereign, the premier added. Read more here.
 

(Ian Austen — NYT)

It was an inside job of sorts. Thieves with access to a warehouse and a careful plan loaded up trucks and, over time, made off with $18 million of a valuable commodity.

The question is what was more unusual: that the commodity in question was maple syrup, or that it came from something called the global strategic maple syrup reserve, run by what amounts to a Canadian cartel.

On Tuesday, the police in Quebec arrested three men in connection with the theft from the warehouse, which is southwest of Quebec City. The authorities are searching for five others suspected of being involved, and law enforcement agencies in other parts of Canada and the United States are trying to recover some of the stolen syrup.

Both the size and the international scope of the theft underscore Quebec’s outsize position in the maple syrup industry. Read more here.
 

(Kevin Dougherty — Montreal Gazette)

Opposition parties say it isn’t balanced, vow to vote against it

Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau presented what he termed a balanced budget on Tuesday, capping infrastructure spending at $9.5 billion a year and committing his Parti Québécois government to hold down new spending next year to a squeaky tight 1.8-per-cent limit.

But Quebec’s two main opposition parties were quick to reject Marceau’s plan, threatening a new election in January.

Former Liberal finance minister Raymond Bachand accused Marceau of hiding a $1.8-billion deficit, while François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec complained the Parti Québécois government is not abolishing the health tax, as it promised, and will raise hydro rates.

Marceau said his spending controls, plus new taxes, will balance Quebec’s budget for 2013-2014, the financial year starting April 1, projecting he will hold the deficit in the current fiscal year down to $1.5 billion. Read more here.
 

(The Canadian Press)

The new Quebec government says its support for a Canada-Europe free trade agreement is not yet certain and is warning that it should not be treated as a fait accompli.

The Parti Quebecois government said Wednesday that there are grey areas in the negotiation that need to be clarified before the province signs on.

The new minister responsible for the file, Jean-Francois Lisee, said in an interview that he’s “moderately optimistic” that the province will eventually support the deal — but he has some concern about going too far in liberalizing certain industries. Read more here.
 

(The Canadian Press)

Ed Fast says Quebec’s PQ government onside 

Trade Minister Ed Fast says he believes a comprehensive trade deal with the European Union is achievable by year’s end and that he has been assured Quebec’s new government remains on side.

The minister, who talked with Quebec’s finance and international relations ministers by phone last week, said he was assured that the separatist-minded Parti Quebecois government desires a trade deal with the European Union. As well, the PQ has also decided to retain Pierre Marc Johnson, who was named by the previous Liberal regime as the province’s chief negotiator at the talks.

“I certainly sensed from my counterparts in Quebec that they understand how important this agreement is,” Fast said in an interview Tuesday. The minister made the comments after a breakfast meeting in Ottawa with the heads of mission representing the EU. Read more here.
 

(Julian Beltrame – The Canadian Press)

Trade Minister Ed Fast intends to meet with his counterpart in Quebec soon amid reports questioning whether the province’s new Parti Quebecois government remains onside in free-trade talks with Europe.

Some news reports have suggested Premier Pauline Marois may not be as much of a cheerleader on a deal with the European Union as her predecessor, although there has been no announcement rejecting the talks.

The Conservatives have indicated they want to close a Canada-European Union free-trade pact by year’s end, saying it could boost the economy by $12 billion annually.

Fast said that he intends to continue to be “collaborative” in his approach to negotiations, noting that the provinces have been present at the table whenever issues on provincial jurisdiction were discussed. Read more here.
 

(John Ivison – National Post)

Pauline Marois will be sworn in as the 30th Premier of Quebec Wednesday. Her first order of government business will be to pick a fight with the Prime Minister, as a distraction from the fiscal train-wreck set to hit her province when she ushers in billions in new spending, tax hikes and rampant protectionism.

One option that fits with her apparent plan to take Quebec back to horse and buggy lifestyle is to try to block the Canada-European Union free trade deal, currently being negotiated in Ottawa.

Ms. Marois is intent on creating a new department of foreign affairs and international trade to carry out its own negotiations on trade deals. Jean-François Lisée has already been named her Minister of International Relations and External Trade. Read more here.
 

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Globe amp; Mail)/spanbr /br /bQuebec takes seat at table saying provinces want to influence deal, but Nfld. opposes EU discussions due to seal-product ban/bbr /br /Canada embarked on free-trade negotiations with the European Union yesterday with a visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Prague, while Quebec showed its determination to play its own major role in the talks, naming former Parti Québécois premier Pierre-Marc Johnson as the province’s “chief negotiator.”br /br /Quebec Premier Jean Charest has established close ties with the former PQ leader, who has been one of the Liberal government’s most respected voices on everything from trade issues involving the United States and China to heading a public inquiry into the 2006 collapse of an overpass in Laval that killed five people.br /br /Mr. Johnson, who in the 1980s placed sovereignty on the backburner to promote Quebec’s “national affirmation” within Canada, has now been asked to advance Mr. Charest’s vision of Canadian federalism, in which provinces act as partners with Ottawa in major decisions, rather than spectators.br /br /“The European Union was reticent to engage in such talks unless the provinces were committed to the process,” Mr. Johnson said yesterday. Read more a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090507.HARPERTRADE07ART2259/TPStory/National”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Transport Canada)/spanbr /br /The Government of Canada will commit $10 million to expand the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) facilities at the Lacolle-Champlain border crossing, one of the ten busiest Canada-United States border crossings. The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.br /br /Funded through the Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, the project consists primarily of the expansion of commercial and bus processing facilities. The project is designed to improve border infrastructure along the Canadian side of the corridor, enhance safety, and relieve traffic congestion. a href=”http://www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/releases/nat/2008/08-h062e.htm”More information here/a.