International Trade Committee on Jan. 30th, 2014

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

I understand your diplomacy. I appreciate that.

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

As I said, I'm using this.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

I have one last question. You mentioned labour mobility. In engineering, for example, there is a movement of professional labour back and forth. In this reciprocity is there an opportunity for Canadians to use our skills and services within the European Union as well?

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

Absolutely, yes.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Are there any specific bilateral opportunities that you see standing out?

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

Do you mean for Canadians in the European Union?

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

And vice versa.

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

For example, Bombardier is already very active on the European market. There is the recognition of professional qualifications. Engineers can work without any difficulty within the European Union thanks to this recognition, and vice versa. To be very honest, when I visited Alberta and British Columbia, I visited the governments and I spoke with business and they all told me they are really looking forward to this mobility of high-skilled workers because there is a demand. Particularly in parts of the industry, these provinces are very interested in getting high-skilled workers from Europe. Definitely that will be an advantage to many Europeans, as particularly in the European Union some of the countries still have difficult economic situations and employment.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you.

I have a quick supplemental. Mr. Davies talked about the timeline.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Okay, very quickly.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

You said two years. There are 23 languages, and we also have two languages in Canada, so what would be the timeline? Would it be 24 months and then it would be into Parliament? Or ratified within 24 months?

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

No, it will be initialled probably in 2014, and you will have a text. As I said, it's not legally binding, but it will be published. Then you will have translation into 23 languages, which will take about six months, and also the presentation, first to the council of ministers, where you have the 28 member states. That will have to give its approval or not. It will give its approval. Then it will go to the European Parliament, and when that is done, it will be also signed by the council, and then you will have the agreement in 2015.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

In 2015.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Very good.

Ms. Liu, for five minutes.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Good morning, madam; welcome to our committee and to Canada. Something tells me you must prefer the winters in Mexico to ours here. Thank you for coming to testify this morning.

My questions will be about the environment, and environmental standards. We know that those standards are quite high in Europe and that environmental concerns are important to the members of the European Union.

In April 2009, the European Commission adopted the Fuel Quality Directive. In fact I had the opportunity of discussing this matter with European parliamentarians, which was very interesting. Under this directive, a higher carbon content is going to be assigned to fuel from oil sands.

Will this directive have an impact on Canada, on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and on our trade with Europe?

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

Thank you for your question.

It is true that environmental standards are very important for the European Union. The E.U. is a leader in that regard, and its environmental legislation is among the most advanced in the world.

I should mention that I have visited four provinces up till now. I saw that some local, provincial or regional governments there, or most of them, also have some very advanced legislation, with very strict standards quite similar to those of the European Union.

I am very familiar with the Fuel Quality Directive. It was on the agenda of every meeting I had with politicians or local and provincial governments. I am aware of Canadian concerns, but there is no connection between that directive and CETA. For your information, a study measuring the impact of fuels on emissions is currently being done. We are waiting for the results of that study to see what the situation is.

I would like to emphasize the fact that non-discrimination is the basis of the European Union policy. In addition, whatever the results of the study are, policy must be based on scientific evidence.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Indeed, I met with European parliamentarians who are in favour of this directive. They explain how it works very well. I think it is an excellent initiative to reduce greenhouse gases in Europe. I am very interested in this.

There are many farmers and transgenic corn producers in my riding. We know that the members of the European Union apply the precautionary principle to GMOs. They are in fact more rigorous in this regard than Canada. However, I think there are as yet no provisions on this in CETA.

Can you comment on the effects of CETA on the producers of transgenic corn in my area?

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

Thank you for your question.

There is no connection between the GMO issue and CETA. This is not covered by CETA.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Will this have any effect on the producers?

I know that the matter will be referred to a committee.

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

Yes, but this will be dealt with separately from the agreement. It has nothing to do with that agreement.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Do you have any idea what the conclusions of that committee will be?

[H.E. Marie-Anne Coninsx]

Karsten, do you have any information on that?

[Karsten Mecklenburg]

No, I don't have exact information on that. In general, CETA doesn't change that. Exporters from Canada to Europe or from Europe to Canada have to comply with local legislation, in that case, sanitary and phytosanitary provisions. The legislation in the EU on GMOs is known. It's not changed by CETA.