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

Sponsor

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.

Summary

This is from the published bill.

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.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-13s:

C-13 (2022) Law An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages

C-13 (2020) An Act to amend the Criminal Code (single event sport betting)

C-13 (2020) Law COVID-19 Emergency Response Act

C-13 (2016) Law An Act to amend 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 and to make related amendments to another Act

Debate Summary

This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Bill C-13 implements the protocol allowing the United Kingdom to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The legislation facilitates expanded trade and market access between Canada and the United Kingdom, while sparking parliamentary debate regarding agricultural reciprocity, pension indices, and dispute settlement mechanisms.

Liberal

Support for UK accession: The Liberal party supports the bill, viewing the United Kingdom’s entry into the CPTPP as a vital step in promoting rules-based, liberalized trade and rejecting protectionism.
Strengthening economic ties: Recognizing the United Kingdom as Canada's third-largest trading partner, the party believes this agreement will build on significant recent trade growth and deepen historical bilateral connections.
Addressing stakeholder concerns: The party acknowledges market access concerns from the cattle industry and the pension indexing issue for British residents, pledging to continue high-level advocacy with the United Kingdom to resolve these matters.

Conservative

Supports bill and CPTPP expansion: The party supports the bill and the United Kingdom's accession to the CPTPP, viewing it as a common-sense measure to diversify trade and provide Canadian businesses with enhanced access to a major global market.
Criticism of agricultural trade imbalances: Members criticize the government for failing to use the negotiations to resolve non-tariff trade barriers that effectively block Canadian beef and pork from the U.K. market while allowing U.K. products to flood into Canada.
Neglect of British state pensioners: The Conservatives highlight the missed opportunity to address the frozen pensions of British expatriates in Canada, arguing that the lack of indexing is discriminatory and imposes an annual cost on the Canadian social safety net.
Requirement for trade-enabling infrastructure: The party emphasizes that trade deals are ineffective if domestic infrastructure, such as ports and rail systems, remains congested and inefficient, preventing Canadian goods from reaching global customers reliably.

NDP

Need for economic transparency: The NDP supports diversifying trade with the United Kingdom but criticizes the government for failing to table a required economic impact assessment, which undermines accountability and prevents informed parliamentary decision-making.
Barriers to agricultural exports: The party expresses concern over non-tariff barriers affecting Canadian beef and pork producers. They emphasize that while imports from the U.K. have increased, Canadian exports have stalled due to unfair sanitary and phytosanitary regulations.
Opposition to ISDS provisions: New Democrats argue for the exclusion of investor-state dispute settlement provisions that allow foreign investors to challenge public interest policies. They note that the government failed to secure side letters similar to those signed by the U.K.'s other partners.
Resolution of frozen pensions: The party calls for the government to use trade leverage to address the issue of frozen British pensions. They highlight the unfair financial burden on seniors and Canadian taxpayers when the U.K. fails to provide cost-of-living increases.

Green

Opposition to ISDS mechanisms: The party opposes the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms within the agreement, arguing they grant foreign corporations superior rights to sue governments over democratic decisions that might impact their profits.
Concerns over democratic sovereignty: May argues that these agreements allow secret tribunals to overturn laws intended to protect workers or the environment, characterizing the provisions as corrosive to democracy and biased toward larger economic powers.
Critique of transparency standards: The party highlights that the CPTPP's dispute resolution rules are less transparent and fair than those in other agreements like CETA, and remains concerned that UK corporations will now use these rules to sue Canada.
Future trade policy shift: While acknowledging the difficulty of renegotiating current terms, the party calls for Canada to stop entering into trade deals that include noxious investor-state dispute resolution clauses in the future.

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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 PartnershipGovernment Orders

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec

Is the House ready to hear the question?

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Question.

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec

The question is on the motion.

If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that it pass on division.

(Motion agreed to, bill read the third time and passed)

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I suspect that, if you were to canvass the House, you would find unanimous consent to call it 5:30 p.m. so we could begin private members' hour.

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec

Is it agreed?

March 12th, 2026 / 5:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.