Saskatchewan gov’t attacks Trudeau again over trade with India

The Saskatchewan government is again speaking out against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government, this time over the trade situation with India.

Canada and India had been working toward a deal on a comprehensive economic partnership and wanted to seal an initial agreement this year, but at the start of September, the Canadian government unexpectedly announced it had paused talks.

A government official had reportedly said it was to take stock of where they are in the process.

Over the weekend, Trudeau was in India for the G20 summit and was reportedly taken to task on the sidelines by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on protests against India’s government in Canada, but Canada also did not get a bilateral meeting with Modi like other countries did.

On X — formerly known as Twitter — Premier Scott Moe on Monday posted a letter that was sent by Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison on Friday, the day the G20 summit began, to the federal minister of export promotion about the trade situation.

“Does Trudeau even understand the damage he is doing to our trade relationship with India – one of our most important trading partners?” Moe wrote.

Does Trudeau even understand the damage he is doing to our trade relationship with India – one of our most important trading partners?

Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison wrote to the federal Trade Minister last Friday to explain it. pic.twitter.com/3dcDMz8XFz

— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) September 11, 2023

READ MORE: Moe talks access after India trade trip

In the letter, Harrison talked about his concerns around the lack of updates give to the provinces and territories about the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) with India.

“It is unacceptable to our Government that we first heard of a pause in EPTA negotiations through the media one week ago and have received no explanation from Government of Canada subsequent to that,” Harrison wrote in the letter.

He talked about Saskatchewan’s exports to India being worth more than $1 billion to the provincial economy. Saskatchewan is either first or second among the provinces when it comes to trade with India, accounting for 30 to 40 per cent of all Canadian trade to India in a year.

India is one of several countries where Saskatchewan set up its own international trade offices.

Harrison wrote that Saskatchewan deserves updates on negotiations with such an important market, and pushed for the federal government to include provinces and territories at the negotiating table.

The minister also took the opportunity to criticize Trudeau’s comments in India when he was asked about protests. Trudeau had said Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and peaceful protest,

READ MORE: Sask. exporters eyeing Ottawa’s investment deal with India

In his letter, Harrison said the Saskatchewan government is deeply displeased that Trudeau, as he described it, “infer(red) that the Government of India does not respect the rule of law,” and accused the federal government of putting “its own domestic political interests ahead of the national economic interests” by focusing on that instead of the trade agreement.

“Clearly, what your Government has done has put the already strained Canada-India relationship in even further peril after some improvement following the Prime Minister’s disastrous trip to India in 2018,” wrote Harrison.

He said he was hopeful progress could have been made on access for agricultural commodities and the process of application of technical standards.

Harrison noted in the letter that he written at the end of July to express concerns around trade with India, and didn’t get a response.