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

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Madam Speaker, while a deal with the U.K. is certainly better than no deal at all, we have been put in this position because the Liberals, frankly, failed to maintain a better deal that we already had, which was the CETA agreement, the agreement that the Harper government negotiated with the European Union and that we had been trying to maintain with the United Kingdom. CETA is a much more liberalizing deal. It provides more market access for Canadian goods and services. It provides more labour protections for workers in Canada and the EU, and would have done so with the United Kingdom.

Why could we not keep the better deal we already had?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to serve with the member on the Standing Committee on International Trade.

I think the member is quite aware that there were quite a few complications when it comes to CETA being extended to the United Kingdom, with Brexit and all the politics around that. He is right that CETA is a very good agreement, and I am glad the Canadian government has engaged in CETA. Unfortunately, it is still not ratified by all member states. I believe Ireland most recently recognized it, and we are working really hard to make sure that the remaining nine countries of the European Union also ratify CETA so that it is fully implemented.

This bill is a very good step toward making sure the U.K. accedes to CPTPP, because it is going to create tremendous benefits for Canadian business.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague opposite a question. Regardless of the substance, we have already said that we are in favour of this agreement, despite certain details that we can examine together in committee. I hope that he will vote with me against some of the more contentious aspects. However, that said, we are in favour of the agreement itself.

What does he think about the fact that the government has not complied with its own policy on the minimum number of days between the announcement of an agreement and the moment it is presented in the form of a bill before this Parliament?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, this is an important bill. As I said, the Prime Minister has made a commitment to the British Prime Minister that we will be moving forward with their accession to this agreement. We feel strongly that it is in the best interest of all Canadian businesses, whether they are based in Quebec or other parts of the country, that this bill be passed and that the United Kingdom, from the Canadian perspective, accede to and become part of the CPTPP. That is why we are moving forward with this bill.

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

Madam Speaker, I am wondering if my colleague and friend could provide his thoughts in regard to the Prime Minister's talk during the election about expanding trade opportunities beyond the Canada-U.S.A. border.

This is a substantive piece of legislation that speaks to that point. It is so critically important that when we talk about putting Canada first, building Canada strong and making Canada the strongest country in the G7, it means that we need to double our exports in the coming years. It is such a critical thing for all of us.

I wonder if my colleague could provide his thoughts in regard to the bigger picture of the issue.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member raises a very good point: Just talking about it is not going to make it happen.

Since the election, look at the amount of work we have done. We have moved ahead with the accession of the U.K. into the CPTPP, finalized the negotiations with Indonesia and Ecuador, resumed our negotiations with the countries of ASEAN and Mercosur, started negotiations with Thailand, the Philippines and India, and made an arrangement with the United Arab Emirates in terms of having an investment protection protocol. There are a few more.

All this work is happening in tandem, so that we can really put into effect the trade diversification strategy that is so needed as we lessen our reliance on the United States and give more opportunities to Canadian businesses to create good-paying jobs for Canadians right here at home.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, we see how these trade deals have played out, and we want to make sure we have trade deals that support workers. We see right now big oil, big banks and big grocery posting record profits while people get squeezed at the till and at the pump when they try to cover their costs.

The Brits charge an excess profit on the runaway greed of oil and gas companies. Will the Liberal government finally tackle the runaway corporate greed and create an excess profit tax, like Britain did?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, most of our treaty agreements support and benefit small and medium-sized companies. If we look at the Trade Commissioner Service, 75% of the businesses it supports are SMEs.

These agreements help businesses in our communities and create good-paying jobs locally.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to speak to Bill C-13, which is for the accession of the United Kingdom to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. CPTPP is the initialism we use, and it is a relatively straightforward bill. The CPTPP has 11 original countries. Canada is a founding member of the trans-Pacific partnership, alongside countries like Australia, Chile, Mexico, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Peru, and the United Kingdom would be the first non-foundational member to join the CPTPP.

I think it is important for the House, obviously, to talk about the relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom and the relationships we are seeking to forge with deeper ties in the Indo-Pacific and with growing economies where we would have the ability to export the products that the world needs in either goods or services. It should be incumbent on all members of Parliament in the House to, yes, scrutinize the legislation that is before us, but also to not take undue time and slow this bill down, because ultimately, when we think about the allies and partnerships that we have, one of the most mature relationships we have is with the United Kingdom.

I want to use my time today to talk about a bit of the background on the CPTPP and about some of the trade-related opportunities and issues between Canada and the United Kingdom, but then also give a bit of a local perspective as the member of Parliament for Kings—Hants. I also want to talk about the issues and opportunities that I think both governments, whether in London or here in Ottawa, can use to continue to forge that very great partnership that has existed with our mother Parliament and ultimately with our constitutional monarchy through the United Kingdom.

One in five jobs in Canada depends on free trade. This means that the free trade and our partnerships around the world are absolutely critical. That is why the Prime Minister is working so actively with our ministers to forge strong, meaningful relationships globally and to make sure that people in other countries wake up in the morning thinking of Canada.

It is easy to think that people maybe wake up in the morning and think about Canada. We should be very proud. As a G7 country, we have what the world wants. We have contributed on the global stage, but the world is a big place. The work the government is doing ensures that countries are increasingly thinking about Canada as a reliable trade partner. That is the work that is happening.

Our goal is to double our exports outside the U.S. market. Of course, the U.S. market is vital to our economy, as 75% of our goods and services are exported to the United States. Nevertheless, we need to build economic resilience. We must therefore find other international markets to strengthen the resilience of our manufacturing sector and our economy as a whole.

The United Kingdom is out third-largest trading partner, and the government has been focused on the ways we can continue to increase and deepen that trade. I heard a question from the opposition benches in the first round of debate that suggested that Canada does not have an existing bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom. I am here to assure and to reassure that opposition member that we do have an existing agreement on the bilateral that is an extension of the United Kingdom's leaving the European Union. I think that is important to recognize, and that member will have a great opportunity to be able to ask questions. If he thinks he is so smart in the House, he can ask those questions. I look forward to it.

Of Canada-U.K. trade, 99% is tariff-free. There are small irritants that exist, but I do think they are important. I represent a rural riding, an agricultural riding. I had the opportunity to talk to His Excellency High Commissioner Rob Tinline, who is the United Kingdom's high commissioner to Canada, about some of the market access issues that we have around beef products.

There are two issues that relate to the exportation of beef from Canada to the United Kingdom. This is an issue with the European Union. I know our government benches are working on engaging on this to be able to find a solution forward. The first issue is hormones in beef. There is an industry standard in North America. Objectively, I think that may be the harder one to overcome. The second one is around carcass wash. There is a North American standard with respect to rinsing or carcass washing. There is no good reason, by the way, that the United Kingdom or the European Union should not be welcoming and trying to bring top Canadian beef to those markets.

We have opened up and had opportunities for British beef in Canada. We certainly support our friends and farmers across the way. They should equally be opening up those markets. I know the Prime Minister had the opportunity to talk to Prime Minister Starmer about that. It may seem small, but it is important in this context. We should look at the broader relationship, but these are some of the irritants that we believe need to be removed to be able to move forward.

For me, this is personal. I am wearing today an Annapolis Valley tartan tie. My family's ties run through the United Kingdom. The first Blois to come to North America was Abraham. He served with the 84th Highlander regiment. Sarah was his wife. They settled after the war. They had a land grant in the Kennetcook valley. Blois is not that common a name here in Canada, but most of the Bloises we find originate out of the Maritimes, from the beautiful small community of Gore, Nova Scotia. My wife is a British dual citizen and a Canadian citizen at the same time. She has family in Scotland.

When I think about the ways we can continue beyond the trading relationship and deepen the people-to-people ties that already exist, I see some opportunity in the days ahead for the two governments to look at labour mobility. We have skilled workforces on both sides of the pond. If there are British workers who want to come and serve Canadian companies, we should be finding pathways to do that more easily through our immigration programs. Likewise, there are many Canadians who have ties to the United Kingdom who may be able to contribute for a short period of time or may want to spend some time there. How can we look at more labour mobility? I think there is merit in that. There is certainly merit in looking at financial regulations and professional services.

Of course, we speak two official languages here in Canada.

English-speaking Canadians enjoy particularly easy access to the U.K. labour market. It is straightforward to practise law, accounting and other similar professions there.

There are a lot of similarities with respect to regulation and harmonization of professions. We can do more on this.

The next one is around regulatory harmonization. When I was briefly the minister of agriculture in the Prime Minister's first cabinet, one of the things we thought about, and I know the current Minister of Agriculture shares this view, was being able to work with other trusted jurisdictions. When we think of the United Kingdom, when we think about its regulatory processes, notwithstanding what I said on beef, where we are perhaps not pleased about the carcass wash, we know there is a scientific rigour to the way in which it undertakes its regulatory processes and its approvals. If, for example, there is a sheep vaccine approved in the United Kingdom, I am confident it should be readily available for Canadian sheep farmers.

We have a lot of work we can do on those types of regulatory pieces around crop protection products, vaccines for animals, animal feeds and tools for our farmers. That is one area I think we can deepen. It does not have to be and of course it is not contained in Bill C-13, but when we think about deepening that partnership, those are some areas I would like to see.

Another is research between agencies like Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the CFIA and others. We can do a lot of that. I know there are existing partnerships, but they can be built upon, particularly in the circumstances we find ourselves in.

With respect to tourism, a lot of us think about the United Kingdom. I think we have to make sure that the Brits are thinking about Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada.

The last piece I am going to say is a quick stat for members. At the end of World War II, every single apple that was sold in London came from the Annapolis Valley. It is a source of pride. We think there is more opportunity, whether with respect to wood pellets, apples or agriculture, to get goods into the United Kingdom.

I see that I am at the end of my time. I look forward to taking questions from my hon. colleagues.

[Tamara Kronis, Conservative, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to compliment the hon. member for really connecting his speech to his riding.

I want to ask the hon. member about the country of origin quotas, which expired 18 months ago. I am going to provide him with the example of Canada Goose, which I believe he is familiar with. It is a Canadian company that generated $75 million of revenue in the U.K., but paid $10 million in duties last year, with that figure projected to climb to $15 million in duties this year, which, of course, is a significant burden for that business.

It did not have to be that way, and I am wondering what the hon. member is going to do about it.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I am not too proud to stand in the House and say that I was not aware of that particular circumstance. The member, obviously, is well steeped in that particular issue as it relates to Canada Goose, which is what I heard was the company.

As I mentioned in my speech, 99% of the trade between Canada and the United Kingdom is tariff-free, and it comes down to destination originators and trademarking. If the hon. member would like to see me after this and have a conversation, I am happy to make sure that gets to the Minister of International Trade and the appropriate authorities so we can look into this issue to see what we can do to help support that great Canadian company.

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

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question that was just posed. Canada Goose is located in Winnipeg North. It has a very substantial footprint and employs hundreds of individuals. I can assure my colleague and the member who asked the question that this is something the government takes very seriously as we try to resolve all sorts of outstanding issues that prevent the exports of fine, wonderful, world-class Canadian-made products.

When we look at the importance of the trade file in general and of sending a very positive message, as a collective House, by saying this is legislation that we should be advancing, there really is no justification for sitting on it indefinitely. This is not the first time we have debated the legislation.

I am wondering if the member would concur that passing substantive legislation of this nature sends a positive message to the people we are trading with. It shows Canada's willingness to not only secure trade agreements but also to enact them where we can.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I would agree in the sense that, as I mentioned, the United Kingdom is one of our closest friends and allies. This is an important signal. We do not want to be talking about this bill deep into 2026. The House of Commons should debate this, get it to committee and, ultimately, to the Senate as soon as possible.

Let me use this opportunity to also say that this is not the only piece of legislation before the House. We have significant criminal reform legislation, a multitude of different bills that matter to individuals in our community and matter for public safety. I have to assume, because I hear questions from the other side, that we need to do something to tackle violence in our communities with criminal reform. We need to move all of that legislation before Christmas. There is no good reason why we cannot get that bill to committee and get it back.

I would invite my Conservative colleagues and all opposition members, and not only for Bill C-13, to clear the deck before Christmas and show Canadians we are getting work done.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague, whom I have a lot of respect for. I like his choice in ties. We have a heritage commonality, which brings up the fact that we are discussing trade with the U.K.

I know one of the member's previous files, which he holds near and dear and close to his heart, is agriculture. I would like to hear his thoughts on the imbalance of trade between Canada and the U.K. with regard to the exports of beef and pork. We are hearing there was $30 million in imports in the first half of this year, and last year Canadians were allowed to export only $25,000. I would like to hear his thoughts on that.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I will return the compliment to the member on his beautiful vest. We like the tartans. I know he has heritage in the United Kingdom as well.

I touched a bit in my speech on the imbalance on beef trade. The hon. member is right. I should have included pork as part of that. This is something the government needs to continue to focus on. I do think Parliament needs to ultimately move forward with the accession legislation for the United Kingdom to help support a friend and ally, but we need to continue to push the United Kingdom on access. There are significant beef and pork exports coming this way. We have not been able to realize the benefits of the trade the other way. Yes, there are lots of good things to highlight and we should not get stuck on singular issues like this, but as it matters to beef farmers in this country, whether in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan or across this beautiful country, we need to keep fighting for that.

I know the Minister of Agriculture has been engaged on that. I have had personal conversations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I know she is going to be raising it as well, as has the Prime Minister. We need to stay on that.