There is no doubt that Mark Carney is entitled to a vacation, but in politics, optics matter. Being in Italy during a key point in trade negotiations, what Carney might call a “hinge moment” is not a good look.
It’s also weird that his office is calling the trip a personal commitment and saying it was vetted by the Ethics Commissioner but offering no details.
We put Carney and his Italian vacation on the front page of the Toronto Sun today.
You can read my column on the issue and what is really happening in the trade talks here.
The good news is the talks are going better than they were. The bad news is, there are still many hurdles to arriving at a deal including Carney offering to the Americans the idea that provinces will end their booze ban when he’s not delivering for the hardest hit provinces and their issues.
From the column.
Ontario’s Doug Ford is highly unlikely to agree to put American booze back on the shelves without some sort of resolution on autos. There is a way to bring any American tariffs on Canadian autos or auto parts down to 1–2% while still allowing the Trump administration to declare a win, but that hasn’t been part of the talks so far.
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette is equally unlikely to surrender on supply management for dairy, or the booze ban, just weeks before an election in which the separatist Parti Québécois might win without significant gains for her province. And can anyone expect British Columbia’s David Eby to put bourbon back on the shelf when B.C. softwood lumber faces an effective tariff rate as high as 47%?
This is a massive issue and Carney’s bad decisions over the last 18 months have put us in a weaker position than we should be in and the Americans are starting to put pressure on us.
Anyway, enjoy the video, will have a further update later today.
