Having dealt with a number of "tough issues" this week in Washington, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is leaving her NAFTA negotiators to work around the clock in the U.S. capital while she flies home to host an international meeting of female foreign ministers in Montreal.

"We discussed some tough issues today," Freeland said Thursday afternoon. "The atmosphere continues to be constructive and we continue to work hard towards a deal, which has always been Canada's objective."

Freeland said that since this most recent round of negotiations began, negotiators have been working around the clock to find compromises on the remaining issues. Despite the pressure to meet a U.S.-imposed deadline —​ the American side wants a deal within days in order to meet U.S. trade law timelines and get the final document signed by Mexico's outgoing government —​ Freeland maintained that her focus had not changed.

"Canada has, from the very beginning, been guided by a single metric and we continue to be guided by that single metric today, and that metric is getting a deal that is good for Canada and good for Canadians. That is our target," she said...

This was excerpted from the 20 September 2018 edition of CBC News.