The new North American trade deal is expected to take centre stage when Parliament returns Monday, marking the first challenge for a Liberal minority government that will need Opposition support to pass legislation.
The House of Commons reconvenes Monday after rising for the holidays in December, giving Canadians their first serious look at Canada's 43rd Parliament in action.
As the U.S. continues to threaten other countries with retaliation if they proceed with a digital services tax, Canada's trade minister says the question of how to ensure profitable search engines, social media platforms and online retailers pay their fair share can only be tackled on a multilateral basis.
As the U.S. continues to paralyze the World Trade Organization's system for appealing trade disputes, 17 members of the trade organization announced Friday they will collaborate on an alternative initiated by Canada and the European Union to resolve complaints that emerge between them in the meantime.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged MPs to move "resolutely and rapidly" to ratify the new North American trade deal.
Addressing his Liberal caucus this morning as MPs meet for a two-day strategy session ahead of next week's return to Parliament, Trudeau said the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — also known as NAFTA 2.0 — will be the Liberal government's top priority.
Senators on Capitol Hill have finally approved the latest version of North America's free trade pact.
The implementation bill for the long-awaited U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement passed on a vote of 89-10.
That means it now needs only the signature of President Donald Trump to be fully approved in the United States.
