This bill was last introduced in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session, which ended in September 2019.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.
This enactment enables Canada to implement the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, which was done at Geneva by members of the World Trade Organization, including Canada, on November 27, 2014, as an amendment to Annex 1A of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization.
It amends the Food and Drugs Act, the Hazardous Products Act, the Radiation Emitting Devices Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Pest Control Products Act and the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, to bring them into conformity with Canada’s obligations under the Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
It also makes related amendments to another Act.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to correct the record on what the Minister of National Defence said earlier today in the House.
The minister rose to say that we announced a national security and rule of law dialogue during the Prime Minister's visit on September 12. While the announcement was made on September 12 and in conjunction with a trip, the Prime Minister concluded his trip to China on September 2.
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton
I thank the hon. member for Laurentides—Labelle for this clarification and bringing it to the attention of the House at the first instance.
Questions and comments. Resuming debate, the hon. member for Brampton South.
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today about Bill C-13, the legislation that would allow Canada to implement the World Trade Organization agreement on trade facilitation, otherwise known as the TFA.
As members may know, Canada played a key role in the negotiation of the TFA at the WTO. The TFA focuses on streamlining, harmonizing, and modernizing customs procedures. It has enormous potential for reducing trade costs and times. The TFA would enhance predictability and transparency of customs decisions for traders, expedite the release of goods through the use of modern technologies, and increase the efficiency of customs procedures through improved coordination between border agencies. In these negotiations Canada ensured that the TFA would provide a full range of trade consultation measures while preserving our ability to protect the health and safety of Canadians and the environment.
I would like to speak today about some of the legislative amendments that are required for Canada to join the ranks of 92 other WTO members, including the EU, the U.S., and China, who have ratified the TFA.
While Canada's customs system is compliant with the vast majority of provisions in the TFA, certain statutes do require amendment for Canada to fully implement the TFA and maintain safeguards on the health and safety of Canadians and the environment. These amendments relate to two provisions of the TFA: article 10.8.1, rejected goods, and article 11.8, goods in transit.
Article 10.8.1 requires WTO members to allow importers to return to the exporter goods that were rejected on account of their failure to meet certain health and other technical requirements, unless another means of dealing with the rejected goods is provided for in that country's laws—for example, seizure and disposal. Therefore, governments that wish to retain the ability to treat incoming goods other than by permitting their return will need to be able to point to specific provisions in their laws or regulations providing authority to do so.
Article 11.8 prohibits the application of technical regulations to goods moving through a WTO member's territory from a point outside its territory to another foreign point, known as goods in transit. This provision would allow foreign goods to move through Canada, for example, from Europe to the United States, without complying with our technical regulations.
The transit through Canada of some goods, such as pharmaceutical drugs, cleaning products, or pesticides, that do not comply with technical regulations is currently prohibited by certain federal statutes, which need to be amended. To ensure that the Government of Canada's statutes and regulations comply with this article of the TFA while maintaining safeguards to the health and safety of Canadians and the environment, amendments to five statutes administered by Health Canada are required. Those statutes are the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act; the Food and Drugs Act; the Hazardous Products Act; the Pest Control Products Act; and the Radiation Emitting Devices Act.
Bill C-13 identifies criteria under which non-compliant goods could either be returned to the exporter, re-consigned in accordance with article 10.8.1 of the TFA, or alternatively, seized, detained, forfeited, and/or disposed of by inspectors or customs officers. This means that non-compliant goods such as drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, food, tanning equipment, children's toys, hazardous products, and pesticides that pose unacceptable health and safety risks could be seized and not returned in certain cases. In other cases, in the absence of significant risk factors, products could be returned or re-consigned.
These amendments will enhance the predictability and transparency in how rejected goods are treated at the border, and will help ensure that the health and safety of Canadians and the environment continue to be protected.
In regard to article 11.8, most importers are aware of the prohibitions on the transit of unregistered or unauthorized products, although sometimes companies request one-off permission to transit such products through Canada.
Presently, these activities are expressly prohibited by legislative or regulatory requirements, and are routinely denied.
Preventing products that do not comply with technical regulations from transiting through Canada can be considered a trade barrier. This is because the health and safety of Canadians and the environment can in fact be protected in an equally effective and less trade-restrictive manner.
The legislative amendments proposed in the bill specify that Canada's technical regulations would not apply to goods in transit through Canada as long as certain requirements to protect health, safety, and the environment are met. More specifically, Bill C-13 includes requirements designed to mitigate the risk that certain goods in transit could be diverted into the Canadian market or compromise the health and safety of Canadians or the environment as a result of accidents or spills.
For example, labelling requirements for certain goods in transit would enable inspectors, border officers, handlers, and sellers to distinguish between goods destined for import and those just passing through. Such labelling would denote the origin, intended destination, and product safety and handling procedures for goods in transit.
By implementing the proposed amendments to the Food and Drugs Act, the Pest Control Products Act, the Radiation Emitting Devices Act, and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, Canada would meet its international obligations under the TFA with respect to article 10.8.1 in dealing with the treatment of rejected non-compliant goods, and with respect to article 11.8 to improve the flow of goods across its borders.
Bill C-13 would enable Canada to update and better coordinate customs processes that will help bring economic benefits to Canadians. I support this bill, and I urge all hon. members to support this bill, which would enable Canada to do its part to bring this agreement into force, and ensure that the health and safety of Canadians and the environment remains protected.
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is lovely to be back in the House of Commons. I would like to thank my colleague for her speech.
Certainly, I am always happy to hear about trade and new trade happening. If I think back to our Conservative government, when we were in government, and the 44 countries with which we introduced trade deals, I think it is wonderful.
I specifically appreciated how the member looked to the technical details of what is involved in trade, a lot of times, because if we do not get those right, they can be a barrier. I wonder if the member could comment on whether she thinks there is some ability to leverage what we learned in this specific deal, so that we can deal with interprovincial trade in a better way. Many times there, as well, we see that it is technical differences between specifications in the provinces that are causing the barrier to trade.
I would be interested to hear what the member has to say about that.
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, as members know, we went back to Canadians during the campaign and reminded them that our priority is pro-free trade.
We support increased trade with other countries because it is good for Canada. In my riding of Brampton South, I see how businesses and connections from all over the world benefit our economy and families when we are setting Canada's standards high.
I am supporting this bill and all the global work done by the minister on this file.
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Brampton South for her speech.
Any measure that will help SMEs take on the challenges they face every day is praiseworthy. As my colleague from Trois-Rivières said, not enough of our SMEs are in the export market, so Canada's decision to sign and ratify these agreements is a great thing, especially because the agreements are for SMEs, business people, products, jobs, and workers, unlike the TPP.
I would like my colleague to comment on that. This agreement seems to please investors more than it does the manufacturing sector.
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows, the government supports free trade as we open markets for Canadian goods and services, grow Canadian businesses, and create well-paying jobs. It will also boost our economy and is good for Canadians.
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, our industry committee is currently studying a manufacturing strategy for Canada. We are looking at pharmaceuticals and cosmetics manufacturers as well as people working in the food industry, and looking at the opportunities to increase exports for SMEs.
Could the hon. member comment on the bottom line improvements that this type of an agreement could give the SMEs when they are trying to develop into emerging markets?
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada completed the legal review of the Canada and European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement. Our government supports free trade. It is how we open the market to Canadian goods and services, grow businesses, and create high-quality jobs. CETA would remove trade barriers, give unprecedented access to a market of 500 million people, widely expand free trade between Canada and the European Union, and increase opportunities for the middle-class.
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Mr. Speaker, I heard multiple times in the member's speech and comments in answer to questions that she supports free trade and her government supports free trade. The trans-Pacific partnership was drafted over a year ago. The government has had over a year to look at it. Liberals say they have been consulting and are continuing to consult. Are they simply going to wait until the U.S. makes a decision on this, or is the Government of Canada ready to approve this free trade agreement, the trans-Pacific partnership, that would open up more access to 800 million people, similar to this agreement?
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, our government is working hard toward this, as is Bill C-13. We fully support the bill. The TFA would increase trade by modernizing and simplifying customs and border procedures and lowering trade costs as well.
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-13 is basically a technical bill stemming from a World Trade Organization agreement. It will streamline border services' administrative procedures in all 162 member states, making them faster, more transparent, and less arbitrary.
In terms of trade, the impact here will be minimal. Our main buyer is the United States, with which we already have agreements that cover more ground than the WTO agreement. Bill C-13 will remove a number of irritants for exporters whose goods might otherwise have been held up at customs. While such situations can be frustrating for people who get tied up in red tape, they are few and far between.
Certainly some aspects of the bill merit closer scrutiny. Chief among these are the importation of hazardous materials and prohibited pesticides for which less control is not desirable. Nevertheless, we will support Bill C-13 in principle.
Quite frankly, although this bill is large, it is not very substantial. The only thing the WTO member countries could agree on were the technical details. The last WTO agreement was concluded 22 years ago. There have been nothing but obstacles since then. The Seattle round never got off the ground. The Doha round is moving at the speed of a zombie in an unending coma. There is something not right in the world of trade.
The irrelevance of the Bali package, the Marrakesh protocol, and the subsequent Bill C-13 is a testament to that. We seem to be forgetting that behind the multilateral trade agreements was a desire for lasting peace, and a strong humanitarian motivation.
GATT played a big part in the decolonization movement and the dismantling of the empires that followed. That is not at all what drives trade discussions these days. Natural resources and manufactured goods currently move freely, with some exceptions. In fact, 85% of all goods move freely without quotas or tariffs. On average the remaining tariffs are 5.5% on all the goods traded on the planet. Essentially, free trade already exists.
When it comes to freer trade, the discussions currently underway are focused on two things. The first is agriculture. It is a sensitive subject. Agriculture is not like other sectors. Most people in developing countries depend on it. When prices skyrocket, people in urban areas go hungry because they are unable to afford food. When prices drop, people in rural areas lose their land because selling prices are lower than production costs. They are at a major disadvantage compared to large American and European farmers who are heavily subsidized. Our producers, who are under supply management and are not subsidized, face the same threat.
In short, unfettered free trade threatens food sovereignty, social peace, and land use, which are also sensitive subjects. This explains why the discussions are so difficult. What is more, we are at the table with a number of ultra-liberal and intransigent countries. These countries are net exporters of agriculture products and want the borders to be thrown wide open. They form what we call the Cairns Group, the same group that is attacking supply management. Canada is among those ultra-liberal countries.
Harmonizing standards has been another focus of many stalled discussions. Countries have always had laws and regulations that reflect their notion of the common good. Some of the more lenient societies, such as the United States and English Canada, are more geared toward free enterprise. Others are more restrictive, with the state setting itself up as the guardian of the people's will and the common good. Those are two opposing models of society. When trade agreements seek to harmonize standards, the problem is that their provisions always end up restricting the state's ability to act.
No trade agreement will ever require universal education. That is not what trade agreements are for. They can place restrictions on states that want to prohibit GMOs, however. No trade agreement will ever say that a 0% tax rate constitutes unfair competition, but a state that intervenes in the economy by supporting businesses whose growth is desirable because they are considered strategically important would be accused of unfair competition.
Given our quasi-free trade situation, trade agreements no longer have much to do with trade as such in terms of customs tariffs and import quotas. What they do is affect states' ability to act for the common good.
They make interventionism or stringent regulations illegal. They codify an economic model and make illegal anything that deviates from it. It is no wonder that everything is blocked. The bulk of Canadian agricultural production is from monoculture destined for export. There is good reason to liberalize the entire agricultural sector and ensure that countries do not have the right to ban GMOs, since Canada is one of the largest GMO crop producers in the world, or require that they be labelled.
I have no ill will toward Canada. I am speaking in Canada's interest and the same goes for government interventionism. Canada has one of the worst records in the world when it comes to supporting its businesses. It invests very little in R and D, so that is normal. Since it has a subsidiary economy, its businesses are not terribly innovative.
Canada also wants very strict agreements that prevent other governments from intervening in the economy and definitions of subsidies that cover everything. In 2016, it is defending an economic model from the 1990s. It is one of the most intransigent countries at the table, and this intransigence largely explains why everything is being blocked at the WTO and why we are discussing such an irrelevant matter as Bill C-13 here today.
I do not take issue with that. That is Canada's prerogative. The problem is that my society does not work like that. We have innovative enterprises in Quebec, homegrown enterprises, and an ownership economy. We have large government institutions that intervene in the economy and regulations that seek to protect the public and defend the common good, but many people do not like them because they see them as barriers to trade.
We are claiming our right to build a distinct society in North America, a society that reflects who we are. Since market forces are pushing more toward uniformity, then we need an active government that enjoys a healthy dose of freedom.
For 20 years, trade agreements have taken their toll: our middle class ended up in direct competition with exploited workers in developing countries. Free to trade everywhere without having to adapt to different regulations, multinationals uprooted their production chains and encouraged tax havens that would allow them to hide their earnings abroad and avoid paying taxes. They stopped contributing to the communal pot, forcing governments to cut services.
We can continue to repeatedly deal with these obstacles, pretend that the rounds of negotiations are not moving as slowly as zombies, and discuss austerity measures, such as those set out in Bill C-13, or we can start fresh and consider how trade can become a real instrument for progress for humankind, not just for multinational corporations; consider how producing while destroying the environment or exploiting children is a form of unfair trade; and consider how the diversity of peoples and their economic and regulatory models contribute to the world's wealth.
I know that I am not in the right country to say these things and that Canada is too attached to the 20th century and its development model. However, I also know that my country, Quebec, would resolutely choose the 21st century, social progress, and sustainable development because they are in our best interest.
In the meantime, I will discuss Bill C-13 in the Parliament of Canada in preparation for the day when my people will be able to take control of these debates. Then everything will be different.
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Montcalm for his speech. He obviously knows a lot about this topic. We are lucky to be able to learn from his expertise.
I would like to ask him whether it seems obvious to him that, during all this time, the people who are discussing and developing these major contracts between investors are seeking to secretly influence governments. Rumour has it that the TPP could be ratified very soon.
Are there not major issues on which Quebec must stand and be counted? I am thinking about the unbelievable Netflix clause that would mean that we could not intervene in the delivery of what are commonly known as over-the-top services on the Internet. These types of hidden clauses have a huge impact on culture and perhaps even on agriculture.
I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about that.
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to claim to be an expert. I would like to thank my honourable colleague for saying that my speech was well researched.
While I can say we will support the principle of the bill and then find, in the clause-by-clause study, where the devil is hiding—because they say that the devil is in the details—my point is not to have an arrogant attitude toward Canada or believe that it should not protect its interests. I just wanted to show in an objective and structured way that there are two competing economies in Canada.
There is the branch plant economy, as we saw with Rona. In Canada, all guidelines, all parameters are set by Bay Street, in Toronto. Quebec, however, has developed an owners' economy. Therefore, it is hard to understand why we are so attached to our head offices.
Canada and Quebec have two different and competing economies. In fact, they are objectively different. When, this country speaks, instead of Quebec, about international agreements with such organizations as the WTO, it is not protecting Quebec's interests.
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. He obviously does not believe in Canada.
If, as he wishes, Quebec were independent, how would it engage in that kind of trade at that level? Would it have the power to do that?