* Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, making a visit to Sault Ste. Marie Tuesday, August 25 and Wednesday, August 26
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BRYAN HAYES, PROUD TO SERVE
Free Trade or No Trade: A Clear Choice in this Campaign
In this fragile economic climate, one of the riskiest policies floated by the NDP and supported in the backroom by the Liberals is protectionism. Skip Morrison and the NDP believe Canada should shut its doors to foreign products, including goods from the United States, and only ‘buy Canadian.´
Even in countries like the United States, such a move would most certainly lead to a downturn in their economy. But for countries like Canada, that are so dependent on our American and increasingly European and Asian trading partners, a short-sighted ‘buy Canadian’ policy would be catastrophic for our economy.
Only a Conservative Government will continue to open markets for Canadian businesses, like our steel producers. While the NDP and Liberals continue to press for closed markets, our Conservative Government has tripled the number of free trade agreements that Canadian businesses can benefit from internationally. From 1993 – 2006, the Liberal party signed only 3 free-trade agreements. Since 2006, our Government has signed 30.
Why is this important? According to International Trade Canada one of those Free Trade Agreements, the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, will boost economic activity in our country by $1.7 billion. This results in Canadian businesses now having access to over 50 million new customers. Our ground-breaking Canada – European Trade Agreement is yet another example. This agreement alone will expand the Canadian economy by over $12 billion each year, with Canadian businesses gaining access to over 500 million new customers.
While the NDP and Liberals want to reduce your family’s wealth by taxing more, our Conservative Government has been focused on giving our world-class businesses more opportunities, thereby growing the Canadian economy.
Only a Conservative Government will work to find new customers for Canadian business. And only a Conservative Government will let Canadian businesses use the new revenue to grow their operations instead of paying more in tax.
