Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together. At the invitation of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, I visited Canada between 19 and 23 August. The visit was an excellent opportunity to further deepen the very important economic and cultural links that exist between our two countries. My visit commenced in Montréal with an official welcoming ceremony and a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, during which we discussed the provisional implementation of CETA, which came into effect on 21 September. Both of us recognise and welcome the benefits that this agreement will have for the Canadian and Irish economies, in terms of job creation and revenue for our taxpayers. We discussed the latest developments on Brexit and Ireland’s priorities in the negotiations. Prime Minister Trudeau updated me on the latest state of play with regards to the NAFTA renegotiations with the United States and Mexico. In the context of a wider conversation on health care, I updated the Prime Minister on plans to hold a constitutional referendum on the Eighth Amendment. We also discussed climate change and reaffirmed both our countries’ commitment to the Paris Agreement.

Following our meeting, Prime Minister Trudeau and I walked together in the Fierté parade, where I also had the opportunity to meet informally with the Mayor of Montréal and the Premier of Quebec. I also met leaders and representatives of the Irish community in Montréal and the wider Quebec region before travelling to Toronto. In Toronto I had a number of business engagements including a business breakfast event hosted by Enterprise Ireland, the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Ireland Funds which was attended by over 150 people. I also hosted a Tourism Ireland round table event with representatives of the travel industry and airlines and had a number of individual meetings with IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland client companies. During my visit, the IDA client company Toronto Dominion Bank announced an expansion of its European operations. The bank has chosen Dublin as its post-Brexit EU hub and I am glad to report that it will also establish a bond trading unit here.

At an Irish community reception hosted by Ambassador Kelly I had the opportunity to meet with political and community leaders and members of the Irish diaspora, including representatives of the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre. Also in Toronto, I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony to mark the start of construction of the new Dr. George Robert Grasett Park, which will be a memorial to the medical staff who gave their lives to aid Irish Famine victims in the 1840s. I also travelled to the US, Canada border where I was briefed on customs arrangements there. While they employ a range of mechanisms to ensure smooth and efficient customs processing, it was patently clear to me that this was not a satisfactory model for border arrangements - if any - on this island after Brexit. Finally, I also had a number of international media engagements. Overall, my visit to Canada was extremely positive and an excellent opportunity to further develop the strong links between our two countries.

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