Thank you very much, and good afternoon.
As introduced, my name is Shirley-Ann George. I'm the vice-president of international policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. With me today is Brian Zeiler-Kligman. We appreciate the invitation to come and discuss with you Canada's free trade negotiations with Colombia.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce supports the federal government's commitment to re-engage our relationship with the Americas. Many Canadian companies are active in these markets, presenting a great upside potential for Canadian exporters and investors and for Canadian jobs. To that end, our members have been very supportive of the negotiations with both Peru and Colombia. Since the hearings today are on Colombia, I'll only address that side of the negotiations.
We support the government's decision to pursue a free trade agreement with Colombia. Although a separate agreement, we also support and strongly urge the government to finalize the double taxation treaty with Colombia. There are important trade policy and foreign policy arguments in favour of both agreements.
Looking first at trade policy, Canada's economic relationship with Colombia is a modest one, although most suspect that it is larger than the official statistics suggest. Canadian foreign direct investment in Colombia is driving most of this economic relationship. Canadian companies in the extractive sector are particularly active in Colombia, as well as all the Canadian service providers that specialize in the ancillary services that go along with this. Canadian manufacturers are also selling some of their products into Colombia, providing important Canadian manufacturing jobs.
Indeed, Colombia is an important market for those Canadian companies investing in South America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as Colombia is influential in the region and many Canadian companies view Colombia as key to their South American strategy.
We understand that the agreement being negotiated with Colombia is a NAFTA-like agreement, covering issues such as services and investment, in addition to the traditional market access. This means there will be strong environmental and labour provisions as components of the agreement.
The Canadian chamber and our members support responsible business conduct and government's effort to build capacity in these areas for both companies and host governments, and Canadian companies are recognized global leaders in socially responsible business practices, commonly referred to as CSR. They lead by example and help the normative standard for all companies to be raised wherever they operate.
Canadian companies present in Colombia are contributing to the progress being made there by their operations, and the passage of a Canada-Colombia FTA will make it easier for Canadian companies to access the Colombian market and, through their voluntary contributions, will contribute to the human rights situation there.
For our members, the key to an agreement with Colombia is one that ensures a free, open, and fair trade and investment relationship between our two countries.