Johnson to represent Quebec at Canada-European Union trade talks
Montreal Gazette
Johnson to represent Quebec at Canada-European Union trade talks
By Kevin Dougherty, The Gazette
6 May 2009
Quebec - Former Parti Québecois premier Pierre Marc Johnson will represent Quebec in Canada-European Union trade talks.
Johnson will not be at the bargaining table but he will consult with Canada’s negotiating team.
Premier Jean Charest made the announcement Wednesday in Quebec City, while Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Prague for the official start of the process, aimed at establishing a bilateral economic partnership to ease trade restrictions and manpower mobility between Canada and the 27-country European Union.
Charest suggested the arrangement two years ago at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, primarily to facilitate closer Quebec-France ties.
The other provinces also see an interest in such a deal with Europe to make it easier to recruit qualified European workers and open new European markets.
Charest previously named Johnson to an inquiry into the de la Concorde overpass collapse that recommended massive infrastructure spending to update Quebec’s crumbling roads network.
Johnson was named by Charest to negotiate an end to the softwood lumber dispute with the United States.
