Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Canada’s No. 2 marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis on Wednesday received final regulatory approval for the purchase of smaller rival CanniMed Therapeutics, which would make it the world’s most valuable weed producer. The approval of the $1.1 billion deal from the Competition Bureau follows months of tensions between the companies and comes at a […] Read more
Pot firm Aurora’s CanniMed deal gets regulatory nod
India, Canada to work up pulse export protocols
Reading Time: 2 minutes The prime ministers of Canada and India have agreed to sort out new and predictable rules governing exports of Canadian pulse crops. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on a state visit this week to India, released a joint statement with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday calling for the two countries to reach a new […] Read more
Final version of Trans-Pacific trade deal released
Reading Time: 3 minutes Wellington/Sydney | Reuters — The final version of a landmark deal aimed at cutting trade barriers in some of the Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing economies was released on Wednesday, signalling the pact was a step closer to reality even without its star member the U.S. More than 20 provisions have been suspended or changed in the final […] Read more
Canada to seek Mercosur trade pact amid NAFTA uncertainty
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government plans to open free trade talks with the four-nation Mercosur trading bloc in South America, an official said on Friday, at a time when the future of NAFTA is facing increasing uncertainty. Canada sends around 75 per cent of its goods exports to the U.S. and is looking […] Read more
Marijuana can only go on sale months after federal law passes
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Recreational marijuana in Canada will only go on sale a few months after it is legalized later this year because the new retail system needs time to start working properly, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said Tuesday. The Liberal government says the new law must be in place by July 1 […] Read more
Ontario pot firm Aphria selling U.S. stake
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ontario marijuana company Aphria said on Friday it agreed to sell its minority stake in U.S.-based Copperstate Farms to Liberty Health Sciences for $20 million. Boards of Aphria and Liberty have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter. Aphria has been looking to hive off its business […] Read more
NAFTA negotiations grind on
Reading Time: 2 minutes Montreal | Reuters — U.S. negotiators are holding firm in their demands for a wide-ranging overhaul of NAFTA, sources close to the talks said on Thursday, raising questions about whether any real movement is happening at the latest round of negotiations on the treaty. Officials from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are in Montreal for […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Australia makes progress with India, Canada waits
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– Pulse crop prices in Western Canada are holding steady while questions remain about the future of trade with India. India in November imposed a 50 per cent import tariff on peas and in December a 30 per cent tariff was placed on chickpeas and lentils. The tariffs were imposed overnight and left […] Read more
Canada in on TPP pact, to be signed in March
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — Eleven countries aiming to forge a Asia-Pacific trade pact after the U.S. pulled out of an earlier version will sign an agreement in Chile in March, Japan’s economy minister said on Tuesday. Trade officials had been meeting in Tokyo to resolve rifts including Canada’s insistence on protections for its cultural industries […] Read more
Officials aim to forge ahead with TPP as Canada wavers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — As trade officials gather in Tokyo this week to try and forge ahead with a trade pact that U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned last year, the new 11-member club risks getting bogged down by resistance from Canada. The member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), also […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
