OTTAWA--Canada has not yet engaged in substantive discussions with the European Union about opening up its telecom sector to foreign ownership, Steve Verheul, Canada’s chief negotiator for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), told The Wire Report Monday.

A recently leaked October draft of the CETA shows that, as part of the trade deal, the European Union has proposed that Canada liberalize its telecom sector to allow for European ownership.

Despite a pledge to liberalize the sector in the 2010 speech from the throne, the federal Conservative government has not released any policy position on loosening the foreign ownership restrictions.

Contact Ryan O'Neill at 613-232-5952 ext. 222 or roneill@thewirereport.ca
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