Canada Senate approves ratification of Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine
Illustrative photo: The Senate of Canada approved the ratification stage of the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine (facebook.com)
The Senate Committee of Canada has approved the bill regarding the ratification of the updated Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine. It received support without any changes, reports Ukrinform.
Next, the bill will be submitted for final approval by the full Senate during the next plenary week, starting March 19. Since the bill has already gone through a three-stage process in the House of Commons, after the Senate's final approval, it will only need to receive the signature of the Governor General, the official representative of King Charles III.
Free Trade Agreement
The Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada was concluded back in 2017 and allowed the countries to eliminate or reduce tariffs on most goods. Last September, during a visit to Ottawa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the updated agreement, which now covers not only trade in goods but also services, investments, and telecommunications.
Recently, the Canadian House of Commons approved a bill amending the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, which was signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Ottawa last year.
Bill C-57, aimed at implementing the modernized Canadian-Ukrainian Free Trade Agreement, was passed by the Canadian House of Commons with a majority of 214 votes to 116.
The government's publication received no support from the Conservatives, despite calls from Ukrainian groups to change their position. The Tories have repeatedly claimed to support Ukraine but oppose the bill due to the countries' goals of advancing carbon pricing.
Liberals are trying to capitalize on this, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stating that the Tories are against Ukraine.
Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng noted that such an agreement will enable Canadian businesses to contribute to Ukraine's economic reconstruction and recovery after the war.
