Free labour movement not part of new Canada-EU transatlantic pact, ambassador says

Negotiations toward a new transatlantic pact between Canada and the European Union don’t include discussions for a full-scale free labour movement, but something more focused, Canada’s EU ambassador said ahead of the Canada-EU summit later this week in Montreal.

Canada and the EU are expected to use the summit to announce a new agreement that could touch on a number of issues including labour, critical minerals and energy.

Jonathan Wilkinson, who took the Canadian ambassadorship in Brussels earlier this year after spending more than five years in the Liberal cabinet, told The Canadian Press in an interview the labour discussions are focusing on “specialized areas” where employers from both places can benefit from access to a shared labour pool.

He said any measures that would make it easier for workers and students to move between the two jurisdictions need to be approached in a “thoughtful way.”

“We’re not talking about free movement of labour between Europe and Canada. But what we are talking about is in some specialized areas, it may be actually interesting and useful for both countries to have the ability to tap into labour pools,” Wilkinson said.

The ambassador did not cite specific sectors where labour mobility between Canada and the EU could be eased. The EU and Canada have been discussing increased collaboration on critical minerals, technology, defence and clean energy.

Wilkinson pointed to work already done by Canada and Europe on mutual accreditation for architects and said any future decisions about labour mobility would be focused on areas of “mutual benefit.”

Canada has also discussed joining Erasmus+, the European Union’s student exchange program, which offers study and training opportunities in member nations.

The exact nature of the new pact between Canada and the EU has been murky even from the leaders themselves.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in September a new alliance could make Canada an “associate” member of the 27-member bloc.

But “associate membership” does not actually exist in the EU and Canadian officials have downplayed the use of that term.

Prime Minister Mark Carney used the term “alliance of the future” to describe the deal, which was first made public when he spoke to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, France, last month.

This week’s summit will be happening on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Canada-Europe Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA.

Nine EU members – France, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Hungary – have not yet ratified that trade deal.

Wilkinson said he’s spoken with all 27 of his EU member nation counterparts since he moved to Brussels and there is momentum in Europe to get more countries behind CETA. He did not name specific nations.

“I think there are a number of countries that will be moving in that direction over the coming months. So that’s a process that will go along with the rest of this deepening of the relationship,” he said.

One of the EU’s leading nations may have a new government soon. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, is the current polling favourite to succeed Emmanuel Macron as president this spring.

Le Pen delivered a nearly hour-long speech to supporters Sunday that focused on her party’s nationalist, anti-immigrant positions.

Wilkinson said politics is always dynamic and Europeans and Canadians will go on sharing values regardless of which party is in power in a particular nation.

“I think in France, it’s a very important debate that they are having. And I think that if in fact the government were to change, people will have to take stock of that,” he said.

“But I do think that the European Union is a much bigger project than any one government in any one country. And I have a lot of confidence that Europeans will find their way through this and be just fine.”

Wilkinson said energy and critical minerals – including natural gas, hydrogen and nuclear power – will play a crucial role in the enhanced partnership between Canada and the EU.

“We’re looking at … how can we, for example, encourage significant additional European investment in Canadian minerals projects. We’re talking about how can we think about things like stockpiling together so that we actually can help to stabilize the market,” Wilkinson said.

The European Investment Bank applied for an exemption from Canadian foreign banking rules earlier this month that would allow the state investor to operate in Canada as part of a critical minerals agreement.

Wilkinson said Canada and the European Union are both looking for ways to build up more infrastructure to refine and ship critical minerals and reduce China’s market dominance.

“That’s not a dependency that’s good for Canada. That’s not a dependency good for the European Union. So we are looking at that,” he said.