Bill C-13

An Act to implement the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

This enactment implements the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done at Auckland and Bandar Seri Begawan on July 16, 2023, by updating how that Agreement is defined or referred to in certain Acts and by amending other Acts to bring them into conformity with Canada’s obligations under that Agreement and Protocol.

An Act to Implement the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, it is such a pleasure to be able to rise to speak to an important piece of legislation. It is a part of a much larger picture that the Government of Canada has entered into since the last federal election.

In the last federal election, members will recall that the debate during the election, and the greatest concerns Canadians had, were with respect to economic security and a sense of sovereignty. I would argue that we had the right person, at the right time, leading the Liberal Party. We had a prime minister who understood how important it was to secure an economy that was going to deliver for Canadians even at a difficult time, when we had issues with President Trump and the negotiations and discussions around trade with Canada's single greatest trading partner. That was the issue in the last election, and we had a prime minister who articulated exceptionally well just how important it was that we, as a government, look at opportunities beyond the Canada-U.S.A. borders when it came to trade.

Following that election, we had a prime minister and a government that were focused on that issue. Part of that focus was to build toward a stronger one Canadian economy. That is why members will recall Bill C-5, which was all about taking down provincial barriers, working with provincial governments and building infrastructure, so that we would be in a better position to be able to export. That is what Bill C-13 is all about. It is a reflection of the need for us to have trading partners that go beyond Canada and the U.S.A. As a prime minister, someone who has been the Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Governor of the Bank of England and has impeccable economic credentials, he understood just how important that was.

That is the reason we have seen our Prime Minister, along with a number of different ministers, including the minister responsible for introducing this legislation, aggressively look outside of Canada for export opportunities. I have been a parliamentarian for many years and can say that I have never witnessed such a motivated Prime Minister and cabinet, solely focused on increasing exports and building a stronger and healthier Canada.

What I see in Bill C-13 are tangible results with respect to Northern Ireland and England as economic trading partners. Let us look at one aspect many people may not be aware of. We export gold to England. Virtually every region of our country participates in gold exports. Securing markets matters and also assists in building relationships. Whether it is the Prime Minister or virtually any minister who has been travelling on behalf of Canadians, looking to expand that market and to diversify our exports, every single one has commented on how the world wants more Canada, because Canada really and truly has so much potential.

That is one of the reasons I disagree so much with the Conservatives who say that Canada is broken when they tour the country. All they need to do is to go anywhere, to virtually any one of our allied countries, any of the G7 countries or any of the G20 countries, to find that there is a strong desire to have Canada involved or engaged in their respective economies and to build a stronger and healthier relationship.

If we were to put partisanship aside and just look at the number of countries that the Prime Minister has been to, it is a fairly lengthy list. I would ultimately argue that the greatest asset any country has when it comes to expanding exports is its leader. That is why I say we have the right person at the right time, someone who really and truly understands the economy, how it works, the advantages of international trade, and why it is so very important that we expand beyond the Canada-U.S.A. relationship and that the Prime Minister travels.

Today we are talking about an agreement with England and Northern Ireland. One of the industries in Canada that would benefit is the gold industry, but there are other industries as well. It is important that we expand that trade file into the many different industries that are before us.

Yesterday, a member of the Conservative Party was talking about trade and the pork industry. That is an $8-billion industry for Canada, with tens of thousands of good jobs throughout Canada, in particular in the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba. In Manitoba, we have Maple Leaf, HyLife and other producers, not to mention the hundreds of farmers who support that particular industry in indirect jobs.

I raise that because the Conservative member was talking about a trade agreement with Indonesia, the legislation that we had before us. Some other Conservative members were saying that it is a relatively small percentage of trade, but we have to look at the cumulative total. In Indonesia alone, with the trade agreement that was being debated yesterday, we are talking about billions of dollars in merchandise trade. That is one of the faster-growing economies in an area of the world where we are looking for more opportunities.

The member opposite was talking about the pork industry and saying that there are concerns in Europe, and I agree. There are some concerns with regard to Europe, but we also need to recognize that we have a Prime Minister who has been proactive in virtually all areas of the world.

Representatives of the pork industry in Manitoba were quite pleased to hear about the Prime Minister going to Japan. HyLife has a wonderful processing centre in the community of Neepawa. HyLife is bringing a lot of economic opportunity back to a small, beautiful community in rural Manitoba. I can assure members that the community of Neepawa sees Japan as a wonderful opportunity to continue to grow and expand and be the beautiful community it is.

I could talk about Maple Leaf, which has a huge plant in the city of Winnipeg. The best bacon in the world comes out of that Maple Leaf plant in Winnipeg. Actually, 50% of all bacon consumed in Canada comes from that plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

[An hon. member]

What about Neepawa?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, I just talked about Neepawa. If members want to see how efficient a plant can actually be at processing hogs, they can take a tour of the Brandon plant.

[An hon. member]

Have you?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, yes, I have taken the tour, right from where the hogs go in to where the final product goes out, and some of that product actually goes to Maple Leaf in Winnipeg. I understand the pork industry.

When we talk about world trade, what we are seeing today is a good example of a Prime Minister who has incredible connections. There are other world leaders who are anxious to actually meet with our Prime Minister. I think in terms of when he was down in Asia and he met with the President of the Philippines. Between the President and our Prime Minister, there was discussion about seeing whether we can achieve a trade agreement between Canada and the Philippines. There are all sorts of opportunities, whether it is coconut water coming from the Philippines to Canada or pork going to the Philippines from Canada. I hope I said that right: coconut water from the Philippines to Canada and pork from, ideally Manitoba but certainly Canada, to the Philippines. There are wonderful opportunities.

I take a look in terms of what happened with the Prime Minister's going to India. Do members know how much all of Canada would benefit by that, but in particular the Prairies? India wants energy. We have seen a government that is focused on delivering energy to the world and being a leader.

I would suggest that it is so critically important for those who are interested in following the debate on trade and the importance of trade to take a look at what the Canadian government is doing today and realize that, if we look at the world population and Canada's population, we make up about 0.5% of the world population. On the other hand, when we think of world trade, we actually make up about 2.5% of world trade. Those numbers alone clearly demonstrate why it is so important that Canada be engaged in trade. If we want to improve the conditions here in Canada, we must look at the impact that world trade has and continue to look for opportunities.

That is why the circumstances between Canada and the United States have heightened the importance that we not be as reliant on the United States. I love the United States. Americans and Canadians have had a super fantastic relationship for many years, but as the Prime Minister has indicated, things have changed and Canada needs to look at alternative ways we can provide that sovereignty and sense of security, so that Canada is in a better position going forward and cannot be intimidated by a much larger southern neighbour. That is a huge motivating factor.

People across the way, from the Conservative Party, will ask us to show them the deal. It is important for all of us to realize that we need to have a united front. We need to actually approach the United States in a united team Canada fashion, to be able to argue from a position of strength.

One of the ways we do that is by showing that we have trading opportunities in many other countries that want to increase trade with Canada. We have seen an example of that. If we went back generations, I would challenge whether other prime ministers did this 40 or 50 years ago. I would not go far back, but I can tell members that we have an aggressive agenda for building Canada strong. A major part of that, as we are talking about today, is world trade.

This is just one piece of legislation that deals with Northern Ireland and with England. These are trading partners we have had for a long time. Whether it is with trading partners like these or trading partners into the future, I believe there are opportunities. There is a heightened sense of awareness from exporters that want to be a part of world trade and export beyond the United States, and beyond even Canadian borders, obviously.

I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines on a trade mission of sorts. There were literally hundreds of business representatives and entrepreneurs gathered in Manila to talk about trade opportunities between Canada and the Philippines. Another time when I was in the Philippines, we opened up the Agri-Food Office. That headquarters serves, I believe, 35 countries in the Pacific area for agri-food products. I had a tour of a grocery store in the Philippines that was highlighting Canadian-produced products—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères is rising on a point of order.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have been listening to the speech by the member opposite from the beginning. I am rising because we are supposed to be discussing Bill C-13, which deals with the United Kingdom's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. However, most of the member opposite's speech has been focused on relations with the United States, the Philippines—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member knows full well that the Chair gives a lot of latitude when it comes to the nature of the speeches that can be given, and the parliamentary secretary has referred several times to the agreement and to trade with the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. I would therefore ask the hon. parliamentary secretary to resume his speech.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, I understand and respect the comments, but I think we need to take a look at the larger picture, which is why I also made reference to one of the greatest exports Canada has. The member represents a Quebec riding, and for the province of Quebec, one of the biggest exports, which I referenced, is gold. Gold is produced in virtually all regions of the country. It is one of the biggest trading things that go towards this particular agreement.

This is important, because when we talk about trade agreements, as we have today and as we did with respect to Indonesia yesterday, I think it is widely accepted that members understand the true value of trade, which is why there is support for legislation of this nature. I would hope that we would continue to have that sort of support going forward. I really do believe that Canada needs to be and should continue to be a leader when it comes to trade.

The European Union and the U.K. are very strong allies of Canada, but we should also be looking at creating relationships with other nations, whether it is G20 countries, countries in Asia, or many more. Part of the G20 includes countries from Asia. We need to look at ways in which we can enhance trade opportunities, because that means a stronger, healthier Canada that is able to provide the type of jobs we want into the future. It is good for Canada to get trade agreements passed through the House of Commons.

It was a pleasure to share a few thoughts on the issue.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I listened intently to the member for Winnipeg North speak about the Canadian pork industry. I think he raises some valid points, but unfortunately he left out the real and pressing issues that Canada has with the United Kingdom as they relate to non-tariff and trade irritants specifically for the exportation of pork.

The Library of Parliament outlines that Britain exported 5.6 million dollars' worth of pork to Canada in 2023, 9.1 million dollars' worth in 2024, and 3.6 million dollars' worth in the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, Canada exported no pork to the U.K. in 2023, 75,000 dollars' worth in 2024 and only 122,000 dollars' worth in 2025.

The Canadian Pork Council outlines that the reasons it cannot export to the U.K. are trichinosis testing and animal production and processing rules that prevent the great pork producers in the member's riding and across the province of Manitoba from doing so.

Why did the Prime Minister not use this opportunity to remove those trade irritants and include them in Bill C-13 so Canadian pork producers in Manitoba could sell more product on the international market?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, Canada, like the United States, has a different process for pork processing, which has proven to be very difficult in getting our pork to market in the EU and the U.K. That is well established. It was there prior to the current government, and it is something that, I would suggest, is a work in progress.

While we work on that area, it is important to consider Japan and other countries, such as the Philippines, because this increases the overall export of pork. That is what we want. If members were to check with HyLife in the community of Neepawa, for example, they would find that its biggest concern is actually Japan. There are literally hundreds of jobs in Neepawa through HyLife, and its interest is in Japan.

Yes, we have some concerns in Europe in regard to pork, just like the United States has concerns—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Riding Mountain is rising on a point of order.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member is talking about a different country altogether, versus the actual—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

I understand. I think the hon. member was trying to make a comparison.

The hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.