International Trade Committee on March 15th, 2012

[Patricia Chapdelaine]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Mr. Shory.

[David I. Hudson]

Nothing has reoccurred.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

I think Mr. Hudson would like to answer, but go ahead, Mr. Shory.

I don't know if your question is for Mr. Hudson or not.

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Thank you.

My question will be to Mr. Masswohl. I'll be sharing my time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Mr. Hudson has something to add, and he's in Dubai. I think it would be respectful.

Go ahead and answer the last question very briefly.

[David I. Hudson]

Thank you.

First of all, the NLC report was false from the beginning. What happened in December was a false report by the newspaper that withdrew it. There was no strike. We haven't had a strike. Therefore, I believe it's wrong to ask, “Will you stop this from reoccurring?” Nothing has reoccurred. It didn't happen.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much.

[David I. Hudson]

I can give assurance to the lady that we, as an international group, respect human rights in every way. We signed the UN charter on that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much, Mr. Hudson. That gives us the answer.

Go ahead, Mr. Shory.

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Masswohl, in your opening statement you made a very strong comment reconfirming your support for this Jordan agreement. You also talked about your concerns about a U.S.-Jordan agreement being implemented before our agreement was finalized.

We all know them, and it is so unfortunate that the opposition NDP members simply say there is no economic gain and it's not worth signing this. It's so unfortunate that they look for all kinds of excuses, in my view, at least, to stop any trade expansion. I believe strongly that trade is the backbone of any economy.

I'd like you to comment on the compatibility between Canada and Jordan when we talk about cattle. Is what we export and what they grow compatible? How will this agreement mutually benefit both Canadians and Jordanians?

[John Masswohl]

I think your point is well placed there. Just because there has been almost no trade in the past doesn't mean there isn't potential for the future.

What I would look at is through our beef promotion agency. In looking at this agreement during the negotiations, they contacted the export companies and asked if there was any interest in Jordan, and they said yes, they had not been there in the past, but there is some interest. There is some potential there for the future.

On the competition side, I really don't see that we have a competition issue with Jordan per se for the domestic market. What I was talking about earlier was that given the very arid nature of their land base, it's really not a country that is very well suited for beef cattle production. They do have some dairy production. They have some sheep and goat meat, but they do rely on imports for more than half of the food that's consumed in Jordan.

Where the competition would really come from would be with other beef-supplying countries. The main beef exporting countries around the world are Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Uruguay, and the United States, and in the Middle East there actually are some European exports that are highly subsidized into the Middle East.

Listing off those countries, the one that I would say we really compete with primarily is the United States. For the South American countries, Australia, and New Zealand, it tends to be a grass-fed, lean product. It's at a different price point. We don't really try to compete against those. We compete for the high end, the grain-fed grades very well. Think of a nice, juicy steak. That's what we're very good at. We do that well, and we do compete against the Americans for it.

In a situation where the Americans have had duty-free access to Jordan for over 10 years, that's where we need to get that parity restored.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Mr. Holder.

[Ed Holder, Conservative, London West, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all our guests.

What I just heard from Mr. Masswohl is that government helps business by opening up markets and lets business do what it does best. Thank you for all of your comments.

Ms. Chapdelaine, I heard you talk about a supplier compliance policy where you have no indentured and no child labour. I compliment your firm for this.

Frankly, I have a theory that engagement through increased business is an effective method of raising labour and human rights standards, versus isolationism, which is the antithesis of what we are trying to accomplish.

I have a very direct question for you, Ms. Chapdelaine. Do you think that a free trade agreement with Jordan will hurt Canada's apparel industry?

[Patricia Chapdelaine]

No, I don't.

[Ed Holder, Conservative, London West, ON]

Could you elaborate?

[Patricia Chapdelaine]

I thought you were going to do that—

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Ed Holder, Conservative, London West, ON]

I'm glad I asked.

[Patricia Chapdelaine]

I have to say that we're not competitive as it is, and certainly the business, in our company anyway, doesn't come from Canada and move to Jordan. It would come hopefully from increased business, but also from China and Indonesia, from those countries, and that's the production that I would do in Jordan and ship to Canada.

[Ed Holder, Conservative, London West, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much. The time has gone. We've gone a little bit over, but I do want to thank our witnesses for coming forward on this very important piece of legislation on which we will be reporting back to the House as soon as our deliberations are over. We thank you for testifying before the committee.

Thank you, Mr. Hudson in Dubai. What time of the day is it in Dubai?

[David I. Hudson]

It's 8 o'clock in the evening.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule.

[David I. Hudson]

It is my pleasure.