Wallonia

Rather, it refers to the ability to secure critical capabilities through diversified, trusted and resilient partnerships.

Few relationships illustrate this opportunity more clearly than that between Wallonia, Belgium, and Mexico.

One offers world-class expertise in aerospace, advanced engineering, life sciences, and clean technologies.

The other combines industrial scale, manufacturing sophistication, and privileged access to North American markets through the USMCA framework.

Mexico has emerged as one of the principal beneficiaries of this transformation.

Its integration into North American supply chains, combined with its extensive manufacturing capabilities, positions the country as a critical industrial platform for the decades ahead.

Wallonia occupies a similarly strategic position within Europe.

Located at the heart of one of the world's largest consumer markets, the region has developed globally competitive capabilities in advanced manufacturing, engineering, aerospace, health technologies and industrial innovation.

Tell us about that little town.

Dinant is a very, very little city, village, I would say, even in the south of Belgium, right? So if you would take a look at Belgium on a map, you have the north, which is Flanders, you have the south, which is Wallonia.

And Dinant is situated in the south, Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Now, people from outside of Europe, they skip this 100% for the simple reason they don't know about its existence, right? It's not shown in all the big tour guides.

It's not advertised that much.

But I would say that Dinant is the capital of domestic tourism, right? Why do I speak so highly of Dinant? It's very simple.

were very appreciative of all his efforts around the land.

They invited him with his family inside the castle to spend a night, have dinner together.

And for me, that shows that less in Flanders, but for sure in Wallonia, there's still this old school people to people good relationship.

From a Canadian public opinion perspective, we know that when we ask consistently, whether it's security ties or trade ties or other things, Canadians put Europe at the top of that list and have been for a long time.

I think the bigger issue, and Peter talked about, yeah, we still don't have CETA fully ratified, is what happens in Wallonia when some Belgian state decides, well, you know, not only are we going to get into a strop about cheese, but we're also going to get into a strop about AI centers or other perceived lack of opportunities for European nations or member states.

So to your point, like, let's see what these agreements actually entail, what's in them, what are they supposed to be, and then beyond the leaders, in this case, Mr. Carney and Ms. Vunderland, like, what is the appetite at the EU member state level to actually embrace Canada? Because yes, we are dragging a trade agreement that's been hanging around that we've been talking about for the better part of a dozen years.

Yeah, there are nine countries that still have to ratify CETA fully.

I think the bigger issue, and Peter talked about, yeah, we still don't have CETA fully ratified yet.

is what happens, you know, in Wallonia when some Belgian state decides, well, you know, not only are we going to get into a strop about cheese, but we're also going to get into a strop about AI centers or other perceived lack of opportunities for European nations or member states.

So, to your point, let's see what these agreements actually entail, what's in them, what are they supposed to be, and then beyond the leaders, in this case, Mr. Carney and Ms. von der Leyen, what is the appetite at the EU member state level to actually embrace Canada? Because, yes, we are dragging a trade agreement that's been hanging around that we've been talking about for the better part of a dozen years.

Yeah, there are nine countries that still have to ratify CETA fully.

In France, I was sent by the government to look at a 15-year-old system of trying to provide and encourage shorter food supply chains between villages and towns and their rural hinterland.

And in Belgium, I went to the French-speaking Wallonie, particularly a city called Liège.

And over 15 years, they've built up a new culture of trying to take food seriously, rebuilding a bit of horticulture around it.

And they've got a food council, which links the mayor, the university, people working in the food sector, civil society.

And so they take to the streets, as has happened at other moments in history, to make their presence felt.

As the general delegate for children's rights in Wallonia and Brussels, Soleiman Lagdim has been promoting the rights of under-18s for the last six years.

He tells RTBF that the demographic shift has led to these young protesters feeling disenfranchised.

If we are to fully appreciate what they are telling us, we need to take a step back.

Water cannon and arrests in Liège from correspondents in Liège.

Very much echoing events in France, the student strikes in Wallonia.

french-speaking belgium have continued with some though not enough teachers joining in on the 17th of october the first day of the school holidays uh to the third of may of november uh Maybe bosses and cops were looking forward to a break from jailing kids.

Maybe they could wipe the blood from their shields or have the time to improve the wording of their latest lies about workers fighting back.