Climate change still a priority in NAFTA talks: environment minister
VANCOUVER — Canada’s environment minister says climate change is still a priority in talks with U.S. officials on NAFTA, despite President Donald Trump’s recent threat to scrap the pact altogether.
Trump told a rally in Arizona on Tuesday that the U.S. would “probably” end up terminating the North American Free Trade Agreement, just after formal negotiations began last week.
Climate change was already seen as a potential stumbling block in the negotiations, as Trump has previously called global warming a “hoax” and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord.
But Catherine McKenna says Trump’s “heated rhetoric” won’t stop Canada from promoting its interests, which include protecting its water, air, land and animals from the impacts of climate change.