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Preserving the high level of cross-border trade in wholesale financial services between the U.K. and the EU is also a top priority. MacKay believes this will maintain financial stability in the near term while creating the conditions for Canadian financial firms to assist in broadening and deepening the EU’s own capital markets union.



Continued mutual access to airspace, transportation links, energy markets, and telecommunication networks would benefit Canada as well. Canadian pension funds have invested heavily in the infrastructure required to support these sectors in the U.K. and in the EU. MacKay said Canadians would like to keep investing in such infrastructure, but need stability in the regulatory environment to do that.

MacKay, who held federal cabinet posts in foreign affairs, justice and defence, believes that Canada should offer up assistance to the U.K. in its negotiations for access to the EU market. The EU Parliament passed the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in February. Canada’s Parliament is expected to approve the deal before the end of the year.

“CETA gave us a lot of expertise in crafting access to a single market and the U.K. could do far worse than reach out to senior people in our departments of international trade for help in their negotiations with the EU,” MacKay said. “They could certainly learn from our experience.”

Financial Post