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Mexico looking for deal on labour with Canada

Updated Sun. Aug. 19 2007 11:02 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Mexico's ambassador to Canada says the agenda for a trilateral meeting with the U.S. in Montebello, Que. is "really broad," but subsequent meetings between Canadian and Mexican representatives will be tightly focused on economic issues.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Presidents George Bush and Felipe Calderon will meet for 24 hours at the Quebec retreat. Their focus is the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), a two-year-old framework for pursuing improved trade and security integration.

Emilio Goicoechea, Mexican ambassador to Canada, told CTV's Question Period that the second set of meetings are more important.

"The issues of that meeting are going to be with an economic focus, taking a look at NAFTA after 13 years," he said. "NAFTA is becoming an old treaty... so we need to make some changes."

Canada and Mexico will discuss greater mobility for Mexican workers seeking jobs in the north.

Already, Canada welcomes agricultural workers, and Goicoechea would like to see those permits also extended to people in the oil industry, construction business and hotel services.

Ideally, he added, these permits would allow people to work in Canada, but return to their families in Mexico. "A different situation than we have in the United States."

Legal and illegal workers tend to remain in the U.S., creating something of a drain on the Mexican economy.

Goicoechea says a deal would benefit both countries. Mexico has a labour surplus, while Canada has a shortage of skilled workers.

"The amount that people get paid in Canada is better," he added.

Mexico will present the idea of starting a commission to study how to best implement the labour exchange, and to protect workers' rights in Canada.

The meeting at Chateau Montebello, a one-hour drive northeast of Ottawa, isn't expected to produce any changes to NAFTA, largely because of political opposition in the U.S.

In a statement on the summit's website, Harper said topics for discussion at the meeting include:

* Issues of shared concern in North America
* The competitiveness of our businesses, energy and the environment
* The efficiency of our borders and our preparedness for emergencies and disasters

The three leaders will also meet with business executives who are members of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC).