Canada’s new Conservative international trade minister is a former British Columbia forest industry executive who until several hours before taking the job had been a prominent Liberal cabinet minister.
David Emerson, industry minister under Paul Martin, emerged Feb. 6 as a surprise defector to the new Conservative government, inheriting the trade file in the midst of high-pressure negotiations at World Trade Organization offices in Geneva.
WTO members in Hong Kong gave themselves until the end of April to develop the outlines of a new trade deal.
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One of the first people knocking on Emerson’s door will be Canadian agricultural trade negotiator Steve Verheul, who has watched the first month of the WTO’s promised four-month negotiating marathon slip by without significant progress.
“We have not reached the stage of finding the political will to create the flexibility that will draw sides closer,” he said.
Verheul said that he will look for direction from the new minister because bargaining must soon begin if the deadline is to be met.
“I obviously will be trying to meet with the minister as soon as I can,” Verheul said before he knew who his new political boss would be.
“I need instructions on whether my mandate remains the same and where the emphasis is.”
Canadian farm and trade leaders said they hope Emerson can quickly get up to speed on the complex WTO agriculture file.
“Mr. Emerson is a senior minister, has experience in cabinet and has been involved in trade issues in a previous life (the softwood lumber dispute with the United States),” said Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance president Liam McCreery.
“We will want to work with the new minister and we will be requesting a meeting as early as possible.”
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen said he has not had direct contact with Emerson but knows him as a person with strong business experience and cabinet credentials.
“We look forward to working with minister Emerson and have no reason to expect he will not be able to learn the file quickly.”
British Columbia grain grower Jim Smolik, president of Grain Growers of Canada, said Emerson’s background as a lumber industry executive would be good training.
“He would have learned some of the pitfalls in the softwood issue and I would say he is going to have his hands full with WTO at the crucial stage it is at,” said Smolik from his farm near Dawson Creek, B.C.
On Feb. 6, much of the buzz around the Emerson appointment came from the fact that he was elected as a Liberal in Vancouver-Kingsway two weeks ago, served until that morning as Liberal industry minister and then surfaced as a Conservative.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper had been critical in the past few years as the Liberals attracted high profile Conservative defectors, insisting they should go back to their voters for affirmation.
