In the December 10, 2011 Canada Gazette, Part I (Volume 145, No. 50), Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade issued the following Notice:
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE
NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONDUCT AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE CANADA-UKRAINE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
The Government of Canada is now conducting an Environmental Assessment (EA) to inform the negotiations for a Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Comments are invited on any likely and significant environmental impacts on Canada of a prospective FTA with Ukraine.
The Government of Canada is committed to sustainable development. Mutually supportive trade, investment and environmental policies can contribute to this objective. To this end, the Minister of International Trade has directed negotiators to improve their understanding of, and information based on, the relationship between trade and environmental issues at the earliest stages of decision making, and to do this through an open and inclusive process. Environmental assessments of trade negotiations are critical to this work.
This process is guided by the 2001 Framework for Conducting Environmental Assessments of Trade Negotiations, with direction from the 2010 Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan, and Program Proposals.
For more information, please visit the following Web site:
•Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Negotiations at www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/ukraine/index.aspx?lang=en&view=d.
All interested parties are invited to submit their views on any likely and significant environmental impacts on Canada resulting from the prospective Canada-Ukraine FTA by Monday, January 9, 2012.
This Notice comes after three rounds of negotiations in 2010-2011. The first and second rounds of negotiations took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, in May 2010 and May 2011. The third round of negotiations took place in Ottawa, Canada in November 2011.