the CanadaVisa Team - 23 July, 2015
Quebec Premier Jean Charest recently met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss a proposal for a Canada-European Union free trade agreement. Put forward by Charest at the World Economic Forum meeting last January, Charest hopes that such an agreement would strengthen ties between France and the province of Quebec.
Part of the Premier's plan is to establish a task force that would allow labour mobility between the Quebec work force and the France work force. In their meeting, he proposed to President Sarkozy that they "set up a working group so that [they] can establish a comprehensive agreement between the Quebec and French governments on recognition of skills."
President Sarkozy is in line to assume the presidency of the European Union next year and can therefore play an important role in realizing this free trade accord. By removing barriers to investment and exposing Canadian business to a consumer market of 450 million people, the free trade accord could increase Canadian exports by $2.4 billion.
According to Premier Charest, "President Sarkozy welcomed this willingness to establish a new relationship between Canada and Europe, especially as Quebec would be at the heart of this relationship."
