Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States Committee on April 15th, 2021

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you very much.

One of the things we heard in the previous panel was that beyond environmental criteria for bids, another way into the U.S. market is to have some more supply chain coordination. Recognize where there are gaps in North American supply chains and work collaboratively across countries to try to fill those gaps. Of course that would require some serious industrial planning on Canada's part. We know that Canada traditionally, at least for the last 20 or 30 years, has had a very hands-off approach to anything like industrial policy.

I'm just wondering if any of you would like to comment on the readiness of your industry to engage in some meaningful dialogue with the Canadian government towards a meaningful plan for your industry. What do you think some of the important considerations would be if the government got serious about embarking on real industrial planning in your industry?

[Mathew Wilson]

Yes, we should have an advanced manufacturing strategy for the country. Call it an “industrial strategy” or anything you want, it doesn't matter. Certainly, the CME, working with our colleagues at CSPA and the Cement Association, has called for years on the federal and provincial governments to implement advanced manufacturing strategies for the country.

However, the issue about supply chains is very complicated. We don't even understand what we produce in Canada. A year ago, when we were trying to figure out who makes medical devices in the country, it was a good indication that we had a very limited idea of what actually is produced in this country. We had to map our own supply chains first.

Steel, cement, and now maybe bigger sectors might know, but generally speaking, our supply chains and their capabilities are still not very well understood in this country.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

That would be one of the other benefits of embarking on this more focused industrial policy. Some of that groundwork is done, so that in the event of a crisis where, suddenly, particular supply chains matter more than others, we actually have a better handle on what we produce here and how we can modify production to meet spontaneous needs.

[Mathew Wilson]

The ability of companies to transition to making other things is critical to modern manufacturing. That's what a lot of manufacturers were able to do during this crisis, but we struggled to do it, because we didn't understand what the capabilities of the companies were in the first place. So, absolutely....

[The Chair, Liberal, Raj Saini]

Thank you again to all of the witnesses for taking this time on a Thursday night to enlighten us. We've had some great back and forth, great discussions and questions.

I look forward to seeing you all at the next meeting. Have a great weekend, everybody.

The meeting is adjourned.