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NP View: Fortress North America isn't what Canada needs

Carney appears more willing to give up our sovereignty than he is letting on

It is objectionable that Prime Minister Mark Carney will address the European Parliament before he faces the House of Commons over why trade talks broke down with the Trump administration. There is much to discuss and, so far, Carney has been cagey about what transpired, while American officials are challenging his version of events.

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In particular, Carney needs to explain exactly what he meant when he claimed last Saturday that the Americans wanted to insert language that would restrict Canada’s freedom to sign trade agreements with other countries. “One thing we were not going to accept was any restriction on those deals,” he said.

NP View: Fortress North America isn't what Canada needs Back to video

It is this argument that made it easy for Carney to persuade Canadians across the political spectrum to rally around the flag. However, the specific proposals at play appear to be more complicated than what has been debated in the media. To start with, Carney even suggested in that same Saturday speech that the government was open to aligning trade policy with the U.S. under the right circumstances. “We would be prepared to do that,” he said.

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