Conservative international trade critic Gerry Ritz has taken Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trade policies to task during the prime minister’s visit to China.
Trudeau was meeting in Beijing with Chinese president Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang this week.
Free trade was an item on the agenda, but another issue that came up was China’s tough new rules on canola exports to the country.
On that latter point, an extension beyond a Sept. 1 deadline was among the items agreed to during the talks. Despite that, in his response Wednesday Ritz, MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster, made clear he was not satisfied.
“Justin Trudeau has failed to deliver a long-term solution for Canadian canola farmers and their access to the Chinese market. A temporary extension does not provide any certainty for farmers who are harvesting their crops right now,” said Ritz in a statement.
“Forty per cent and $2 billion of Canada’s canola seed exports go to China and this Liberal government continues to put the livelihood of Western Canadian farmers at risk.”
Ritz also slammed the Liberal government for a lack of openness with the public on free trade talks with China.
“For a government that campaigns on openness and transparency, it is also very concerning that Justin Trudeau is refusing to be up front with Canadians about his free trade talks with China,” said Ritz.
“Canadians deserve to know which agreements their government is pursuing and it is shameful that the Liberals are not being transparent with their plans to pursue a free trade agreement with China. This is a stark contrast from their approach to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, where they continue to delay their decision with endless consultations.”
Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback, vice-chair of the House’s International Trade committee, also slammed the government.
“On a day where we learn that the economy is performing worse than it has since the Great Recession, this Liberal government is more interested in photo ops than Canadian jobs and the middle class,” said Hoback.
“Rather than working with our allies on a common agenda for China, the Liberals seem to prefer going it alone. As a result, Canadians are giving up a lot and are getting little in return.”
Hoback also criticized the government’s decision to bring Canada into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which he said would “send hundreds of millions of Canadian taxpayer dollars to a Chinese government bank with no control over how the money will be spent or whether Canadian companies will benefit.”
“Our previous Conservative government, in concert with the United States and Japan, chose not to join the AIIB because we could not then, and certainly the Liberals cannot now, ensure that this bank will follow the environmental, social and human rights standards we expect from development institutions.”
