Stephen Harper has been boasting of the 43 trade agreements Canada has, implying that this somehow is good for our economy and a tribute to his economic policies. He neglects to mention that of the agreements he has signed with 38 countries since 2006, we have a trade surplus with only one, Norway.
We are actually supporting the economies of the other 37 countries although this includes countries of the European Union with which he signed an agreement in principle but which has never been settled nor finalized by the governments of any of the countries including Canada and is currently in limbo.
Of the other five countries with which we had an agreement before 2006, our trade surplus is with only one, the United States, and that has fallen drastically as the auto industry deserts us for Mexico and the southern U.S. states. Other than the U.S. and Mexico and Korea (since January of 2015), the trade with all the others is minuscule and, while negative, is only a tiny part of our global trade.
Mr. Harper has a well-honed skill in dropping figures without context to confuse the voters and cover up his incredibly poor economic skills.
Denis McKee, Toronto
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