Canada is keen to see forward movement on the commitment given by Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government at their recently concluded meeting in Georgetown to strengthen the regional integration process.
This is because Ottawa is seeking to move forward with the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Caricom, outgoing Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Charles Court, who is also accredited to Caricom, told Stabroek Business in a recent interview.
“The integration process that Caricom seeks is not an easy thing. It will take a long time,” Court told Stabroek Business. “You have to recognise that organizations like Caricom are going to be buffeted about by the economic storm that it has gone through in the last year or so. The leaders have committed themselves to the integration process and we hope that they can follow through. They have also agreed to try to come to grips with governance issues and we look forward to progress because I think that that will be good for our relations with the region particularly since we want to move ahead with the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement with Caricom.”
Court disclosed that Canada had agreed to a recommendation made by Caricom that the start of substantive negotiations on the eagerly awaited Free Trade Agreement be preceded by a meeting of ministers of trade of participating countries in order to provide the forum with “a political impetus”. He said that the two sides have been seeking to set a mutually convenient date for such a meeting but the restrictive parliamentary situation in Canada affects the ability of ministers to travel. “Once the ministers sit down the process will move forward quite quickly,” Court added.
Meanwhile, the Canadian diplomat told Stabroek Business that the value of a Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Caricom is not so much to radically change Caricom’s access to the Canadian market. Canada and Caricom already share a preferential trade agreement under Caribcan which provides a market in Canada for more than 80 per cent of the region’s exports. According to Court, the value of the FTA has more to do with the putting in place of “provisions for trade in services”, which, he said, was an important part of the economic relationship between Canada and Caricom. He said the FTA “would allow investors to know where they stand by creating a clearer investment climate” and would also address “other key issues such as business access and travel environment.” Additionally, Court told Stabroek Business that the FTA “would provide for assistance in creating greater competitiveness in the Caribbean.”
Canada’s pursuit of a FTA with Caricom “is part of a broader Canadian foreign policy focus that targets the strengthening of its relations with countries in the hemisphere”. The focus, which was articulated by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a visit to the region two years ago centres around what Canada has said are “three interconnected and mutually reinforcing objectives, democratic governance, prosperity and security.”
Court said that under Canada’s ‘Americas Strategy’ Ottawa has adopted “more of a regional approach to its relations with Caricom. He said that while, ultimately, it was up to the people of the Caribbean to decide how they want to go forward, bilateral arrangements with separate Caricom countries were likely to be more focused on partnership programmes rather than on across-the-board bilateral aid. “We are looking at improving economic relations with the region as a whole,” Court told Stabroek Business.
Court said that Canada’s foreign policy outlook for the region had accepted that the greater integration of Caricom is very important to the economic development of the region adding that assistance programmes through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) had been structured to strengthen those integration processes.
Canada, Court told Stabroek Business, is seeking to support the creation of an environment in the region that will encourage investment. “Good governance and the security environment in the Caribbean are priorities,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Canadian High Commissioner told Stabroek Business that Ottawa was also concerned about contributing to maintaining the levels of education in the Caribbean. “We have instituted two new Canadian scholarship programmes in the past two years which will take several hundred Caribbean students to Canada, to Canadian institutions, where they will be able to increase their skill levels in order to make their contribution to the development of the region. The scholarships are set in ways that will allow for the beneficiaries to go back to the Caribbean. That will help to train people who can contribute to economic growth in the region,” Court added.
