dailynewsnblog
A trade deal has some beef to deal with, literally.
Canada’s beef industry is urging Ottawa to “stand up” for producers as it negotiates a potential trade deal with Mercosur, warning the agreement with the South American bloc could undermine the sector if key concerns aren’t addressed.
The deal with Mercosur — part of Canada’s trade diversification strategy — would link the country to a roughly $22-trillion market of more than 700 million consumers. It’s aimed at reducing Canada’s reliance on the U.S. amid growing trade volatility.
However, the beef industry is saying that ambition shouldn’t come at the expense of domestic producers.
Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, said the industry isn’t opposed to competition, noting Canada already imports beef from countries like Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. with comparable standards.
Sydney Ko has more.
Also, new Liberal MP Lori Idlout says she’s “moving towards” supporting the government’s position on Bill S-2 despite backing Senate amendments to the legislation when she was a member of the NDP.
She made the comments to iPolitics after the Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday, saying that since crossing the aisle, she’s “definitely learned a lot more” about the government’s position and has received assurances from Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty that the second-generation cutoff will be addressed in separate legislation.
“They had a very specific reason to table it the way that they did, to make sure that they can meet the obligations given to them by the Nicholas [decision],” she said of S-2, referring to the court ruling that prompted the legislation.
Idlout left the NDP caucus to join the Liberals in March.
Marco Vigliotti has more.
Honda Motor plans to more definitively halt development on its $15-billion electric vehicle complex in Canada, according to multiple news reports by Japanese media.
The Japanese automaker paused development in May last year, saying at the time that the company would review where the EV market was in two years before deciding the future of the project.
Sluggish U.S. demand for EVs is leading the automaker to freeze the Canadian EV investment and make hybrids the centre of its North American strategy, according to the reports.
Honda already produces hybrid Civics and CR-Vs at its plant in Alliston, Ont., alongside conventional gas models.
Asked to confirm the news, Honda Canada said in a statement that it had nothing to report at this time.
The Canadian Press has more.
In Other Headlines
Internationally
Ted Turner, the media mogul who founded CNN, has died aged 87, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing a news release from Turner Enterprises.
In a statement, Mark Thompson, the chair and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said that “Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless, and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment.”
“He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN,” Thompson said. “Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”
Turner transformed television news by launching CNN, and went on to also become a prolific philanthropist, founding the United Nations Foundation in 1998 and donating a record $1bn to the UN.
According to the foundation, “Ted’s goals in establishing the foundation were to demonstrate the value of investing in the UN, encourage new partners to work with the UN and promote strong US leadership at the UN.”
Read more from The Guardian.
Elsewhere, Iran has received a US response to its latest peace proposal, Iranian state-linked media have said.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the response, delivered via Pakistan, was now being reviewed, according to Tasnim news agency.
The US is yet to formally confirm it has replied to Tehran. However, President Donald Trump reportedly told Israel’s Kan News on Sunday that the proposal was unacceptable to him.
Iranian state media said Tehran’s 14-point peace plan asked Washington to withdraw its forces from near Iran’s borders, end its naval blockade of Iranian ports, and for all hostilities to cease – including Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
It also called for an agreement between the two countries to be reached within 30 days.
BBC has more.
In Other International Headlines
The Kicker
At a fireside chat in Ottawa with Energy Minister Tim Hodgson yesterday, the head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said Canada has an abundance of important assets, including Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Except for one thing…
He said the one qualm he has with the prime minister is he supports the wrong football (soccer) team…
Carney is an Everton fan. Whatever that means.
