Allied forces on green economy front?

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This article was published 09/02/2024 (942 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Britain’s top diplomat in Canada slept on a wooden plank during her recent Manitoba visit.

The sleep — or couple hours of it — preceded a day of promoting Manitoba-United Kingdom relations, with discussions of professional certifications and critical minerals at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

“We heard very clearly today: we recognize that building green economies of the future is the best way to create really good, high-value jobs for people,” said Susannah Goshko, the British High Commissioner to Canada.

Goshko and Jonathan Turner, the British Consul General, met with Manitoba’s premier and trade minister Wednesday.

“As people speak about the approach to (green economies), it does really feel like the kinds of conversations we’re having in the U.K.,” Goshko remarked.

Last month, negotiators paused talks on a trade agreement between Canada and the United Kingdom. A point of contention was how much tariff-free access the U.K. should have to Canada’s cheese market.

Goshko said the pause doesn’t affect a majority of Canadian-U.K. trade, nor her own discussions in Manitoba.

Instead, during an interview with the Free Press, Goshko highlighted collaboration like that of the Canadian and British militaries.

The Brits are undergoing cold-weather training near Springer Lake, some 155 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Goshko visited the troops Tuesday and slept as they did — outdoors on a wooden flat.

“Though we all wish that the climate was behaving in more normal ways, the fact that it wasn’t -30 C (Tuesday) night probably made that a slightly better experience,” she said with a laugh.

The Brits switched their annual training to Canada from Norway a couple years ago, Goshko said. Now, for a few weeks a year, English troops use the Canadian military’s land to train survival skills, such as creating shelter from snow.

Upon leaving the military exercise, Goshko travelled to Winnipeg; she’s eyeing other ways to connect Canada and Britain.

The diplomat spoke to Manitoba’s elected officials about recognizing professional qualifications between the United Kingdom and Canada.

“I think it would deliver real… benefit for businesses in Canada and businesses in the U.K.,” she said. “I’m really keen on that.”

Turner spotlighted engineers — the U.K. has experts in clean energy who could do well in Canada, he said.

“I think that’s a really interesting area,” he added. “We’ve both got that interest in building up that supply chain, in terms of clean energy.”

Goshko said she questioned Manitoba’s politicians about the province’s trajectory of critical mineral development.

An interview request to Trade Minister Jamie Moses went unanswered Thursday.

Canada’s clean energy supply chains and skilled workers can intertwine with the U.K.’s, Goshko added.

“I’d like us to nail that down as soon as we can,” she said, noting upcoming greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. “The pace at which we’re going to have to move is certainly going to require us to be speedy.”

Meantime, there are U.K. companies who might be interested in getting involved with Manitoba’s critical mineral development, Goshko said.

A direct flight between Winnipeg and London would improve trade and connections, Turner acknowledged.

Goshko had no news to share “other than encouragement for any company that would be interested in laying out a route… I’m sure there’d be lots of interest if a company was willing to do that.”

The British High Commissioner visits provinces across Canada to promote opportunities with the United Kingdom. Currently, trade follows the U.K.-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement. The pact came into force in 2021.

The U.K. was Canada’s third most important export market in 2022.

Canada’s biggest exports were metal and non-metallic mineral products; the country exported $12-billion worth of gold to the U.K., Statistics Canada data show.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com