It really depends on the legal documents that are signed by the governments to do one thing or another.
There is no mutual recognition of standards as such between Canada and Europe. If there were, it would have to do with the capacity of the bodies that certify products and services. The countries involved continue to determine which are the appropriate and acceptable standards in their respective jurisdictions. To my knowledge, there is no mechanism for mutual recognition of specific standards between Canada and the European Union.
As for our relations with the United States, it is very clear that we feel that a great deal of effort should be made to develop joint standards. We are not talking about harmonized standards, where there would be two separate documents and potentially significant differences between the two texts. We are talking about rules that would be created and maintained by Canadians and Americans. We have already developed pilot projects in this area because this need was identified several years ago by the business sector.
Canada and the United States are making progress on developing joint voluntary standards. Those standards can then be used and incorporated by reference by regulatory authorities, where appropriate.