Chrystia Freeland plans to sell Canadians on the need for a new trade deal with U.S., Mexico
(The Star Fashion & Style)

OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday will make the case as to why a modernized trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico — containing enhanced protections for labour and the environment — is vital for Canada’s continuing economic success.Freeland will use two appearances — first in a speech at the University of Ottawa and later before a parliamentary committee — to sketch out the broad strokes of Canada’s principles for the negotiations that begin later in the week for a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).The Liberal government has been consulting with stakeholders ahead of the negotiations — consultations that will continue — but Freeland wants to prompt a larger discussion about the coming trade talks.“It doesn’t mean that every Canadian will be paying attention (Monday) but we know that very shortly they will be,” said a government official, who spoke on background.“The opportunity to modernize matters and shouldn’t be lost on people,” the official said.Canada has kept its cards close to its chest with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying recently that he’s “not going to negotiate in public.”That strategy is not expected to change. But Freeland will speak to broad objectives and themes that Ottawa will be pushing to see included in a revised pact.Those include provisions to strengthen protections for labour and the environment. Canada is also expected to push for language that sets out ambitions around gender equality, a priority for the Liberal government at home.Freeland will speak to the vast changes in the digital economy, how that has changed trade and needs to be addressed in the new agreement in a “substantive way,” the official said.Read more:Trump wants a victory on NAFTA. These Trump voters disagree on what that should meanMeet NAFTA negotiator Steve Verheul — the most import ...