Free labour movement not something Canada and EU considering in new pact: ambassador

OTTAWA — 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 sig…