Canada has struck a free-trade deal with Honduras, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced during the final day of his Latin American tour, saying the country has taken steps to improve its shaky human rights record.
The agreement, which includes provisions on labour and environmental standards, follows nearly a decade of negotiations.
"Today's visit should be taken as evidence of our earnest desire for a stronger relationship with Honduras -- one based upon a commitment to human rights, democracy, security and prosperity," Harper said, according to prepared remarks.
But he timing of the deal is "particularly troubling," said Gauri Sreenivasan, with the Canadian Council for International Co-operation.
Honduras is in the process of shedding its pariah status following a 2009 coup, in which elected leftist president Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the military.
Harper's one-day stop in Honduras marked the first state visit by a foreign leader since the country was allowed back into the Organization of American States two months ago.
"It's a country struggling through a legitimacy crisis," Sreenivasan said.
The trade deal , she said, "guarantees much stronger rights for investor protections," but it doesn't "see anything guaranteed for communities to defend their own interest."
Amnesty International and other groups have complained that Honduras' human rights situation hasn't improved since the 2009 coup, CTV's Roger Smith reported from the city of San Pedro Sula.
Protesters, including a Canadian woman, gathered outside the venue where the trade deal was announced Friday, in the hopes of delivering that message to Harper.
"Human rights continue to be violated all the time, and it's gotten much worse since the military coup," said activist Karen Spring. "I don't believe there's been any progress."
But Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, who was elected three months after the coup, defended his government's record Friday and said the free-trade deal would help lift the country out of poverty.
Sixty per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. The country is also afflicted by one of the highest murder rates in the world. Its 4.5 million residents suffer 12 murders per day on average, according to numbers from the United Nations Development Program.
Bilateral trade between Canada and Honduras stood at $192 million in 2010, but Canadian participation in the country's economy has drawn controversy.
Clothing company Gildan Activewear, the country's largest employer, has been accused of running sweatshops. And gold mining firms have drawn fire for allegedly polluting rivers and causing health problems among the country's indigenous communities.
Honduras marked the fourth and final stop on Harper's Central and South American tour. The prime minister began his trip in Brazil, then travelled to Colombia and Costa Rica before finally stopping in Honduras.
The Harper government has also been criticized for making a free trade deal with Colombia, another country with a dismal human rights record.
Ottawa is currently in free-trade talks with three other Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
With files from The Canadian Press
