Harper needs to pitch Canada-EU free trade deal, Quebec says

Premier Jean Charest is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to actively start selling the idea of a free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union.

Charest said in Switzerland on Wednesday it is crucial to get official free-trade negotiations underway between now and the end of the year.

"It's important that Prime Minister Harper starts talking, especially at this time because we are entering an important time," Charest said during a news conference upon his arrival in the Swiss Alps.

The premier is in the Swiss town of Davos to attend an annual economic summit.

He urged his provincial counterparts to also get on board on the free-trade issue.

Charest has been one of the main promoters of a Canada-European Union free-trade deal.

The Quebec premier says that time is of the essence.

Canada and the European Commission have looked at the possibility of a deal and a report is to be released soon on a study carried out last year.

While the federal government has been working on the project, notably through the work of ambassadors in Europe and Canada, Harper has been discreet on the subject, at least in public.