Stephen Harper hopes to sign TPP before Canadians boot his ass out of Ottawa

The Conservatives are anxiously hoping to sign off on a massive free-trade deal before kicking off an election campaign that's expected to start as early as Sunday.

The federal government is at the negotiating table in Hawaii, where Trans-Pacific Partnership talks are reportedly in their final stages for a deal that could have political implications during the election campaign.

With voting day set for Oct. 19, the governing Tories want to launch the campaign with the deal in hand — an agreement they could brandish as evidence of their economic stewardship.

The partnership, a pact between 12 countries including Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Japan, is poised to become the biggest trade deal in history once ratified. The government says the countries represent some 800 million people with a combined gross domestic product of roughly 40 per cent of the world's economy. ...............(more)

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/07/30/news/harper-hopes-sign-tpp-deal-federal-election-kickoff