OTTAWA — The final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be accompanied by a series of side deals for Canada, potentially on a range of issues, government officials said Friday.
But those side agreements, which will take the form of letters, won't be done in time for the government's planned release of a preliminary TPP text in the coming days.
On Thursday, Trade Minister Ed Fast promised to release a provisional copy of the agreement in the next few days.
Fast also said the deal would be accompanied by at least one side letter between Canada and Japan on processed and unprocessed forestry products.
A senior government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Canada would be signing additional side letters -- individual agreements between countries.
But the source said it was too early to say which specific sectors would be covered by them, and that along with the side letter on forestry, they would only be finalized when the final TPP text is completed.