CALGARY — In response to an American news channel suggesting Canada made a poor decision refusing the trade deal with the US, Minister of Internal Trade Dominic LeBlanc, says he "respectfully disagrees."During an interview on CNBC Tuesday, one reporter made it clear to LeBlanc that he believes Canada was not put in a good economic position when Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the trade deal with the US days earlier."Minister LeBlanc, this is the last thing Canada needs and I'm not sure whether you have a good feel for changes that need to be made in the economic approach of Canada," the reporter stated."With personal GDP actually falling in the most recent years in Canada, the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] projects that Canada, out of 38 OECD members, will rank 38th — dead last — in GDP per capita growth through to 2060.".This OECD report is correct, which the Fraser Institute attributes this decline by 2060 to "very low or negative growth in labour productivity reflecting weak investment in physical and human capital per worker.""And I'm trying to figure out why, so I looked to see — tax and regulatory competitiveness there's a gap even with the US where we think we have all these problems down here, how bad is it in Canada?""And what changes do you think need to be made at this point?""I don't think you're negotiating from a strong position based on these things," stated the reporter to LeBlanc..LeBlanc responded by stating he "respectfully disagreed" with the reporter, stating Canada is the top export destination for 26 states.He stated that Canada selling essentials to the US like oil and potash are equally important for the states, stating, "trade done properly benefits both countries."As for the regulatory measures which make Canada less economically competitive, leading to less economic investment in the country, he says, the feds are introducing legislation next month that would accelerate federal permitting. The proposed legislation has not been formatted into a tabled bill yet, but according the feds, it would "build projects that boost Canada’s economy while ensuring environmental protection, respecting indigenous rights, and supporting meaningful consultation with indigenous Peoples.".Instead, LeBlanc answered, "We're diversifying our trade relationships around the world, we've signed in the last year deals worth tens of billions of dollars with other economies."This comes after the unsuccessful trade negotiations last week between the US and Canada.Carney had stated after the negotiations had taken place that the US had introduced last-minute demands that were “unfair" and "uneconomic.”“Throughout, our goal has been to secure the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any deadline,” Carney stated last week in a statement.“At the very last minute, however, last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”.Carney stated they would be responding with dollar-for-dollar tariffs starting on September 8.The list of tariffed goods announced by the feds on Tuesday, which included a 50% tariff on fish and seafood products, has been removed as of Thursday.
