International Trade committee  Thank you. Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee on this important subject concerning the benefits to Canada of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The Canadian Council of Chief Executives is a not-for-profit, non-p

International Trade committee  I certainly didn't think it was an ideal move, no. Anything that increases tariffs we think is not an ideal move. I believe that this increase was to perhaps create some negotiating leverage for our negotiators who are undertaking negotiations with India, for example, and to en

International Trade committee  No. Thank you for the thoughtful questions.

International Trade committee  We have a very healthy economy. We have regained all the jobs—full-time, good-quality jobs—lost in the recession. I would not characterize that as corporate Canada sitting on the sidelines whatsoever. We've had an extremely volatile period over the last few years. Look at house

International Trade committee  I think first and foremost it's an interesting stylized fact that Canada actually has more stock of foreign direct investment, over $160 billion in the EU, than the EU, in fact, has in Canada. So I think this is an interesting opportunity to not only introduce Canadian firms to t

International Trade committee  I would say two quick things. The first is, I would fundamentally disagree in assessing the health of an economy on the basis of a trade deficit. We are a country of 35 million; the EU has 500 million. They can make a lot more stuff than we can and we want to consume it. We hav

International Trade committee  To my mind, that's the focus of this committee.

International Trade committee  Yes, we were. Broad stakeholder consultation was conducted by the negotiating team.

International Trade committee  We'd have to do a more in-depth analysis, but I can safely say that tariffs are a tax on consumers, and the elimination of tariffs should be passed on by the seller. In other words, the savings should be passed on to the consumer, and we believe that's a significant benefit. I wi

International Trade committee  They should be if they want to retain their customers.

International Trade committee  Certainly to expand to new markets requires investment. The good news that I would encourage this committee of international trade to take a look at is two things, the first is that trade is increasingly becoming disaggregated. We don't necessarily just trade wholesale products l

International Trade committee  Inputs will certainly be reduced.

International Trade committee  I would say a few quick things. The first is that the solidity of our banking system has made our institutions globally well known. As well, our insurance services providers have used the last few years to acquire assets that were either nationalized or in distress. They are brin

International Trade committee  Thank you so much. I would like to apologize to the committee for being late. I unfortunately ended up at your Sparks Street location. I like your old digs, actually, myself. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and committee members. Here is a little bit about our organization. The Canadi

Finance committee  I'll make three quick points. The first is that Canada was the driving force behind the World Trade Organization, which of course was founded after the Second World War. It now has over 150 members. If you're looking for a good bang for your buck, it would be in upgrading and pu