International Trade Committee on March 29th, 2007

[David Emerson, Conservative, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

—and what I'm saying is there will be tremendous benefits for Quebec companies--tremendous benefits. That's because of a government that is committed to a firm industrial regional benefits program, to procurement, to those kinds of initiatives.

On the training side, I don't want to go into detail because I cannot, but I know that we are committing substantial resources for post-secondary, for training of various kinds, and ultimately that's going to be where manufacturing finds its future, whether it's in Quebec or elsewhere in Canada.

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

[Inaudible--Editor]...in Alberta.

Thank you.

I will now turn the floor over to Mr. Cardin.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

You have one minute--actually, a little bit less--for a very short question and a very short answer.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

It's a fact that the multilateral system is extremely effective, even if there are problems under NAFTA, even if there are problems with the Doha Round as well. The fact remains that the multilateral trading system is effective.

However, people do have some questions. Everyone is getting the impression that they are losing out, when under ideal economic conditions, we have a win-win situation. Moreover, when it analysed Canada's trading policy, the WTO found that Canada's participation in negotiations and preferential trade agreements sparked some concerns about resources diverted from the multilateral trading system.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Monsieur Cardin, I'm sorry, but I do have to cut you off. Your time is more than up. Could you ask a very quick question and get a very short answer? The minister's time is very close to the end here.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

It was merely trying to put things in context.

In short, why does Canada want to turn increasingly to bilateral agreements, that is to country-to-country agreements, instead of working toward fair globalized trade within the framework of the WTO?

[David Emerson, Conservative, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

That's a very good question.

Fundamentally, Canada places top priority on multilateralism. The WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, have allowed a small but open economy like Canada to achieve trade gains that we could never have achieved on a bilateral basis, because we don't have the geopolitical might that the Americans and the Europeans have, so multilateralism to us is where our number one priority has to be.

We recognize, though, that our trading partners--and we're hearing this more and more from Canadian companies and Canadian exporters--are being disadvantaged because the Americans, the Mexicans, the Chileans, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Australians, the New Zealanders, and the Europeans are all starting to enter into bilateral and regional agreements that are supplemental to the WTO framework. In other words, they're creating preferred market access in their markets and in their trading partners' markets that we're not able to access. That's hurting Canadian companies, so much of our bilateral trade focus is defensive--not all of it, but a good chunk of it. We're finding ourselves disadvantaged in Central America right now, for example.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you, Minister. I know your time is pretty much up here.

Mr. Cannan, you have about two minutes for questioning, and then we have to wrap it up. Go ahead, Mr. Cannan.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Two minutes is fabulous.

Thank you, Mr. Minister, for coming to the committee and for your great work on this portfolio. Coming from British Columbia, all British Columbians, my constituents in the Kelowna—Lake country, and the forest sector are very thankful for your leadership on bringing some certainty and stability to the forest industry. It would be a lot worse, as you indicated, with the problems in the United States.

Also, I thank my colleagues from Quebec for supporting our budget.

We do have aviation; Kelowna Flightcraft is in my riding, so that's another one.

With regard to the budget specifically, we had several different delegations in the last couple of months at the committee, and one of them was from the ASEAN group, Peter Clark and Mr. Woo presented, and I asked a question about the Asia-Pacific gateway and what their vision and thoughts were. I'm so happy we were able to include an additional $410 million in this budget.

From your perspective, and not only from a national perspective but internationally, how do you see this Asia-Pacific gateway achieving our international trade objectives?

[David Emerson, Conservative, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Again, if you look at the big trends in international trade over the last couple of decades, tariffs are becoming lower, gradually. There are still some patches of very high tariffs and extreme protectionism, and there are other kinds of protectionism that we have to wrestle to the ground over time. An increasing driver of competitiveness is your ability to move product, whether it's inputs, your personnel, or your products around the global economy. The gateway is really Canada's major western initiative in terms of driving the efficiency of our logistics and transportation system, and that will drive the competitiveness of our Canadian industry in a very fundamental way.

Basically, what you're doing is achieving the efficiencies of a global transportation system that connects markets of billions with the hundreds of millions in North America. That creates a very efficient, constantly cycling transportation system with high levels of service and low costs. You're giving access to Canadian companies to that system. It's a transportation system that, if you did not have it, Canadian companies would not on their own be able to have that competitive advantage. So it's a huge advantage.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Cannan.

Minister, I do appreciate, again, you and your officials coming here today. As usual you've done a great job in giving a lot of information in very little time. So thank you.

[David Emerson, Conservative, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

You can leave the table anytime you want here. We do have a motion to deal with; it's a usual motion here regarding the estimates, and then we'll suspend for a short time to go in camera after that. We will deal with the motion first.

Mr. Cannan, go ahead.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Actually, I appreciate the minister coming. It was supposed to be to answer any questions on the main estimates, and he did a great job.

So at this time I'd like to seek unanimous consent that the committee adopt both votes 15 and 55 in the 2007-08 main estimates under Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and that the committee report this to the House at the earliest convenience.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Is it agreed?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Canadian Commercial Corporation

Vote 15--Program expenditures..........$16,182,000

International Joint Commission

Vote 55--Program expenditures..........$2,802,000

(Votes 15 and 55 agreed to)

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you very much.

We are going in camera now to finish the committee report.

[Proceedings continue in camera]