Cheese, Fish and Pharmaceuticals: Does Canada Need Trade Adjustment Assistance?

Does Canada need a program to help workers and firms adjust to changes in the economy arising from trade agreements like that between Canada and the European Union? Our answer is that Canada does not need a traditional trade adjustment assistance program (like that in the US) but instead needs a broader program that helps workers, firms and communities adjust to the reality that firms are globally integrated. Call it “globalization adjustment assistance.” Such a program should be distinguished from the compensation programs offered by the federal government in connection with the Canada-EU agreement. Based on interviews with provincial trade negotiators, we suggest that these programs are simply a financial inducement for provinces to support the agreement.

PRESENTERS:

Saul Schwartz
Professor, SPPA
PhD Supervisor

Dmitry Lysenko
SPPA PhD Graduate (2013)
Trade Economist
Nova Scotia Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism