Euro-Canada

Euro-Canada. What might that mean? Adopting the Euro as our currency? Joining the EU? Nothing quite so dramatic. What I'm talking about here is free trade between Europe and Canada. I'm sure most have heard something about this in recent weeks. This last week there was talk of Canada backing out of talks withe the EU because of there decision to ban the sale of Canadian seal skins within the EU. Look, that is a political decision not an economic one. Let's face it, the seal hunt is not a major sector of the Canadian economy, and certainly not worth risking a major trade agreement over.

A free trade agreement with Europe is essential to Canada's growth and prosperity. At the moment 80 percent of our exports are to the United States - we are far too reliant on them. I am not suggesting we should walk away form NAFTA. On the contrary, we need to establish similar trade agreements with major economic partners across the world to ensure our increased economic diversity. Put succinctly, we should strive for more economic independence.

Canada is a small market with huge resources. We have barely tapped our potential. By opening up our market to close to a billion Europeans we can only benefit. Europe is a highly developed economic zone, but it's resources have been depleted over the centuries. We have the resources they crave.

The EU has an advanced manufacturing sector, and by opening our markets more freely to their goods we are increasing the choices available to Canadian consumers. We are also insulating ourselves against the downturns in the U.S. economy. A small market likes ours is not self sustaining. We are much more susceptible to the ups and downs of our trading partners. The U.S., on the other hand, can weather the small storms of their economic partners due to the size and diversity of their economy. In order for us to achieve the same sort of protection we need strong trade agreements with other strong economic partners. For this reason a free trade agreement with Europe is essential to Canada's continued prosperity.