International Trade committee  Yes, I think that's a great idea.

International Trade committee  The point I was making was that, with the political challenges in getting this agreement ratified, particularly in the European market in light of the TTIP and some controversy happening there with respect to the U.S. negotiations, we need to have a very strong effort by the government and by businesses as well to explain to Europe why this deal with Canada is of value to them as well.

International Trade committee  Coordination, reducing overlap, filling in gaps between what the service offering is, ensuring that information can be shared across them....

International Trade committee  I think a trade deal that did not open up real market access opportunities for Canadian companies with the trading partner would be one type of trade deal that we would not be very supportive of. That said, I think the range from good to perfect is quite large. It doesn't mean you need to be at the level of perfect to support a deal.

International Trade committee  It's very clear, for instance, with India that it's not going to be as ambitious an agreement as what we're doing with the European Union right now, although I'd be happy to be surprised. Nonetheless, there will be some liberalization for certain products of a Canadian nature. As long as the negotiators are weighing that against what we're providing—typically if they're not providing a lot, then we're not going to provide a lot—there's still a potential for net benefits across all of those agreements that Mr.

International Trade committee  Perhaps there could be more challenging countries to trade with in terms of the competition you might face in that market. That can be in terms of very high-performing companies in that market, or it could be because of poor institutional environment or perhaps the relationships between the state and companies in that market that work against Canadian companies.

International Trade committee  I'd be happy to speak to that. As a bit of background, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is developing a report right now with some of our membership and our international affairs committee that will be providing some fairly tangible recommendations on how we can improve the so-called ecosystem of trade promotion services and the way that our representatives abroad promote Canadian business.

International Trade committee  They should be ready later this month or when the report's out next April. I'll say quickly that our consultations so far, and this includes consultations with government, have found that most of the services that businesses need, things like market intelligence, relationship building in foreign markets, financing, risk mitigation, are being offered in some way, shape, or form by agencies of the federal government or provincial governments.

International Trade committee  It's hard to tell with some of the specifics in terms of who's benefiting and who's losing without the final text being available, obviously. We represent, as you said, a wide range of sectors and regions. There are parts of our membership in supply-managed sectors, for instance, for whom this is going to be a challenge.

International Trade committee  No, I don't have any specific concerns that were raised there. I would say there are certain sectors in Canada that had adapted to a model of procurement that tended to require local production, and that's not necessarily just Canadian companies. That could be other companies that have located in Canada for the purposes of servicing government contracts, so for them, the benefits are perhaps not as substantial, but they do recognize the benefit of the world moving toward a model where government procurement and purchases are open to competition because it will give them more opportunity in the future in other markets.

International Trade committee  Mr. Chair, I appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the Canada-Europe comprehensive economic and trade agreement, or CETA. My name is Cam Vidler. I'm the director of international policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which represents about 200,000 Canadian businesses of all sectors, sizes, and regions across Canada.

International Trade committee  I think we strongly agree that more of an effort could be made. Canada could be doing better in India. If I could, I'll address one thing and then try to address the others, if I can, afterwards. The focus on the bilateral trade statistics is something that I think the committee should think about.

International Trade committee  Aside from the membership fee, no.

International Trade committee  Oh, that—

International Trade committee  I had been, yes.