International Trade Committee on March 31st, 2008

[The Chair, Conservative, Lee Richardson]

Thank you, Your Excellency, and thank you, Monsieur Cardin.

We're going to have to keep it brief if we want to close at five o'clock. I'll allow a very brief question to complete the round.

Mr. Cannan.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witnesses.

I'll be really quick. I know this has been about 10 years in the works, so it's good to see it finally coming to a conclusion.

One of the things I wanted to see is what the honourable member Mr. Bains alluded to, having an even playing field with our competitors who have an agreement. Right now, the U.S. does not have an agreement with EFTA; is that correct? So we'll have a foot in the door before them, which I think is very positive, this being the first free trade agreement with transcontinental European countries. This is very encouraging.

What I'd like to know from Switzerland concerns some of the Swiss companies. Now that you have announced this EFTA agreement, have you had some additional companies coming to you looking to do business with Canada?

[Nicolas Bruehl]

I can't tell you specific names, but we know that the interest is there and it is big. Canada has a very good image in Switzerland. Thanks to this agreement, once it is in force it will be an excellent basis, and there will be some Swiss firms, for sure. I can give you some names. But the industry will be there because Canada is very interesting.

Specifically, we know that the universities in Switzerland are really keen to have stronger cooperation with Canadian universities, so there will be interesting projects for sure.

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

You commented that there are no subsidies for the shipbuilding industry, which seems to level the playing field. It has taken almost a decade to get this far. Do you feel that through negotiations going back and forth it's been a fair trade, a free trade, and it's been balanced in the sense that there are winners on both sides of the table?

[Per Øystein Vatne]

Of course we want free trade for all ships, but negotiations are always about giving and taking. That means we have to create winners on both sides, and this was the best result we could get in order to have an agreement. That's where we are today.

Thank you.

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

We talked about fair trade. The issue of environmental and labour standards is something that concerns all of us around the table here. Can you elaborate about your standards and working within Canada? My understanding, from talking with some of the witnesses and other individuals from your country—and we had an opportunity to meet with some of the members of Parliament as well—is that some of your environmental and labour standards are even higher than Canada's. Is that correct? We won't be lowering our standards, let's put it that way.

[H.E. Markús Antonsson]

Based on my experience here and what I have been following in the newspapers and reports in the media, in some instances we have stricter rules, and we're probably more lax on other issues. I don't have the full picture.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Lee Richardson]

Thank you, Mr. Cannan.

That brings us to the conclusion of today's hearings on the free trade agreement between Canada and the states of the European Free Trade Association.

I want to particularly thank our witnesses today. We're honoured by your presence. Thank you again to the ambassador of Iceland to Canada, Markús Örn Antonsson; the first secretary of the Embassy of Kingdom of Norway, Per Øystein Vatne; and the deputy head of mission from the Embassy of Switzerland, Nicolas Bruehl. I very much appreciate your attendance today and your responses to our questions. Thank you very much again.

[Proceedings continue in camera]