Trudeau: No NAFTA Without Cultural Exemption

Trudeau (left) made the comment while he was in Surrey, announcing transit-related news. | Image: Toronto Star.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said September 4 that Canada would not sign a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that doesn't protect Canada's cultural sectors.

The current iteration of NAFTA, a trilateral trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, includes a cultural exemption clause, which affords special protections to "cultural goods" (including Canadian art and media) separate to those from conventional commercial products. 

"It is inconceivable to Canadians that an American network might buy Canadian media affiliates, whether it's newspapers or TV stations or TV networks. It would be a giving up of our sovereignty and our identity and that is something that we will simply not accept," said Trudeau. "We've made it very clear that defending that cultural exemption is something fundamental to Canadians."