Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, committee members, for the invitation to appear here today.
Before I begin my specific comments, let me briefly introduce the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.
The Canadian Council of Chief Executives is a non-profit and non-partisan organization made up of 150 of the leaders of the largest companies in Canada.
CCCE members collectively administer $4.5 trillion in assets, have annual revenues in excess of $850 billion, employ close to 1,500,000 Canadians, and are responsible for the vast majority of Canada's exports, investment, research, and training.
The framework for my remarks today is the objective of a Canada that, looking out over the next 20 years, becomes the smartest, most global country in the world. Furthermore, we believe that the benchmarks to measure our progress towards this goal should be against the best in the world. We suggest that the critical questions in front of this committee, and indeed in front of Canada, related to this objective are: where will prosperity come in the future; where will jobs come in the future; and given where Canada can grow its wealth and create jobs, what are the best investments today to prepare us for that future?
Let me present a few ideas. The first concerns trade. Let me congratulate the government on the conclusion of the Canada–EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Canada has achieved an ambitious outcome that will deliver results for every region of the Canadian economy. CETA reminds Canada of its trading roots. In short, Canada has what the world needs: high quality and reliable services and goods; a reliable and diverse food supply chain; resources; and a stable investment climate. It is time, I would submit, for Canada to turn its attention to Asia. Our approach there should be rooted in promoting Canadian products and services and investment in Canada, not protectionism.
Looking forward, the critical steps are: an ambitious conclusion to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement; conclusion of bilateral negotiations ongoing for some time with South Korea; conclusions with India and Japan to bilateral trade agreements; and a clear path forward for deeper cooperation, trade, and investment with China. A clearly articulated policy towards foreign direct investment is another key policy piece.
As your committee prepares for Budget 2014, we submit that specific and special attention be paid to full resources for Canada's trade negotiating teams, an ambitious budget for the trade commissioner service, so important to diversifying Canada's exports for firms of all sizes, and support for Export Development Canada, including permanent and flexible domestic financing provisions.
We also call on provincial governments to join with the federal government in committing, through the Agreement on Internal Trade, to extend to each other every market access opening we have provided through international agreements. We cannot treat foreign firms better than we treat one another. Federal and provincial leadership on the Agreement on Internal Trade is required. We have to up our game and eliminate any remaining internal barriers. We must also ensure that the required domestic infrastructure is in place to export. Landing Canadian products in diverse markets, especially in Asia, will drive demand, price, and Canadian prosperity into the future.
Second is North America. While emerging markets in Asia will be critical to Canada's future, especially growing new exports, the North American partnership remains Canada's most important economic driver. It is time to strengthen and renew this important trilateral relationship.
In our view, please consider three critical actions to upgrade the NAFTA relationship. First, add a mechanism for trilateral cooperation to the dual bilateral regulatory cooperation process already under way. Second, facilitate the movement of business travellers between our countries, including looking at the concept of a trusted employer program that would function like a NEXUS card for business.