What China’s growing relationship with Canada means for business
David Ho, Dianne Craig and Sherry Cooper.
Canada’s growing trade relationship with China has taken on new life in recent weeks with official visits from Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Premier Wynne was accompanied by an entourage that included Mo Elbestawi, McMaster’s vice-president Research and International Affairs.
Prime Minister Harper’s trip concluded this week with a brief stop at the APEC summit in Beijing where he met with US President Barack Obama and leaders from ten other countries to discuss the proposed TransPacific Partnership — a multi-national free trade deal with far-reaching ramifications for Canadian businesses.
“In order to be part of the TransPacific Partnership,” says David Ho, former president of Nokia China, “Canada needs to open up its dairy and poultry markets for import, which in my view could be disastrous for Canadian farmers. President Obama is trying to conclude the deal while he is in Asia, but there are still many obstacles ahead.”
Next week, Ho will join Dianne Craig, president and CEO of of Ford Motor Company Canada on a panel chaired by Sherry Cooper, former chief economist at BMO and now TMX Industry Professor at the DeGroote School of Business.
Presented as part of the school’s ongoing Knowledge @ DeGroote seminar series, the event will take place Toronto’s Trump International Hotel on November 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cost is $40 and refreshments will be provided.
