Blasting 'weak-kneed' skeptics, Tories fan out to plug EU trade deal

OTTAWA — “Considerable progress” has been made towards a free trade deal between Canada and the European Union, but there are still outstanding issues that must be settled before an agreement can be finalized, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says. “There remain some important issues to resolve, and obviously nothing is resolved until everything is resolved,” Harper said Thursday during a visit to Ottawa by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

OTTAWA — Floor-crossing confrontations in the House of Commons rarely end well, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper and New Democrat Paul Dewar proved today it needn’t come to blows. Shortly after question period, Dewar complained to Speaker Andrew Scheer that Harper had falsely accused him of opposing a trade deal with Jordan. Scheer waved off the complaint and suggested Dewar continue his debate with Harper elsewhere.

Tom Mulcair is urging traditional NDP allies to wait until they see the fine print of a Canada-European Union free trade deal before assuming it’s unacceptable or that he’s sold out. The federal NDP leader has parted company with some labour unions, environmental groups, anti-globalization activists and at least one provincial NDP leader just by expressing openness toward free trade in general and a trade pact with the EU in particular.

A bill that would make it illegal to discriminate against transgender Canadians was approved by the House of Commons on Wednesday. The Opposition private member’s legislation passed by a vote of 149-137, with the crucial support of 16 Conservatives, including four cabinet ministers. It was one of the first tests of the Conservative caucus’ resolve on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) rights in Canada at a time when Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has been mounting a strong defence of such rights abroad.

OTTAWA —  The federal government appears only weeks away from completing negotiations on a Canada-European Union free trade agreement that would be the country’s largest and most important international trade pact in a generation. The deal is expected to immediately eliminate tariffs on approximately 98% of European goods in Canada and lead to what some observers believe could be a 3%-to-5% drop in the price of consumer goods ranging from European automobiles to clothing to coffee makers.

The Opposition took advantage of Earth Day to attack the Harper government for what it deemed Canada’s lacklustre environmental record in recent years. “Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are leaving an environmental debt that will be insurmountable for future generations,” NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said in question period on Monday.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper signalled Wednesday that the economy and criminal justice reform are at the heart of his government’s priorities, but improving the lives of aboriginals didn’t merit a single word in a speech to his MPs and senators. The prime minister’s office allowed journalists in to the normally closed session of the Conservative caucus to hear Harper deliver an address about the upcoming session of Parliament.