Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I am Dana Hayden, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation in the Government of British Columbia. It is certainly my pleasure to be here on behalf of the B.C. government to speak with you on the topic of the Canada-Japan economic partnership agreement. I would like to provide the province's perspective on these negotiations, a little bit about our interests, and of course, answer any questions you have.
I also have with me today Don White and Janna Jessee, whom I may call upon from time to time to help answer your questions.
The province appreciates the opportunity to appear before the committee. We are very pleased to see the committee is taking on this important study. B.C. is also very pleased that Canada is engaging in the Asia-Pacific free trade negotiations. For a trade and investment-dependent country like Canada, we need to keep up with other countries that have already concluded free trade negotiations with Asian partners. However, Canada doesn't yet have any formal bilateral free trade agreements with Asian countries, and it's absolutely essential that Canada sign-off and implement one in Asia.
As you know, British Columbia is Canada's Pacific province. B.C's jobs plan, our economic strategy, is called “Canada Starts Here”. There is a reason for that. British Columbia is the entry point for most imports from Asia and most exports to Asia. We believe British Columbia represents a huge opportunity for Canada as a whole in terms of trade negotiations and agreements with the Asia Pacific.
We also have long and exceptionally strong ties with Japan that extend well beyond our economic interests, though they include them. We share strong cultural ties. The Japanese-Canadian community in B.C. stands at 41,000, based on 2006 census data. Almost half of Canada's population of Japanese ethnic origin lives in B.C., which is more than any other province. These cultural ties are strengthened by students who come to study in B.C. from Japan. In 2009-10, there were 11,100 Japanese students who attended B.C. schools and institutions, and they contributed approximately $160 million to the B.C. economy.
Japan is British Columbia's largest market in Asia and for international visitor entries as well. In 2010, more than 127,000 people arrived in B.C. from Japan, which is about 54% of all Japanese visitors to Canada. Of those, 105,427 visitors stayed overnight in British Columbia at least one night, and spent an estimated $125 million. From a cultural, tourism, and education perspective, Japan is a very important market for B.C.
In terms of goods, Japan is our third largest export market behind the U.S. and China, with 14% of British Columbia's goods and exports shipped to Japan. B.C. is the largest exporter to Japan amongst the provinces and territories. In fact, B.C. exports to Japan represented 44% of the Canadian total. The importance of B.C.'s relationship with Japan was reinforced by our premier's recent mission to Japan, which yielded 25 business deals and partnership agreements, valued at more than $500 million.
It is because of these ties and the potential for them to be even greater that the province has been pressing the federal government for many years to seek closer economic relations with Japan.
Canada as a whole stands to benefit enormously from a free trade agreement with Japan, with a potential increase in GDP of an estimated $3.8 billion U.S. to $9 billion U.S. It is unclear how this will translate at the regional-provincial level, but it does suggest that British Columbia has a great deal to gain. That is certainly our perspective on a trade agreement with Japan.
B.C. already has good trade relations with Japan. I have given you an example of the value of the exports and the cultural connections we have with Japan, but there are a number of ways that a free trade agreement with Japan could improve market access for B.C. producers of goods and services.
The province is particularly hopeful that a free trade agreement would reduce the number of non-tariff barriers that affect products such as wood building materials, beef, and tree fruits.
A free trade agreement would significantly reduce or eliminate remaining tariffs, including those applied against a wide range of forest, seafood, and agrifood products. It would improve market access for service providers by, for example, removing restrictions on air services and removing commercial presence requirements. A free trade agreement would improve access to procurement opportunities beyond the access currently enjoyed through the agreement on government procurement.
We also are very interested in LNG exports to Japan, and it was a priority of our premier on her recent mission there. We believe that a free trade agreement with Japan would provide British Columbia and other provinces, such as Alberta or Saskatchewan, with natural gas resources with the opportunity for increased investment in our provinces because Japan is very interested in LNG imports to supplant their nuclear capability after their earthquake and tsunami challenges of last year.
The Province of B.C. is initiating broad consultations and we’re doing our own analysis to determine where to focus our efforts as negotiations get under way. The examples I've given you are top of mind for us, but as we proceed with discussions with our own stakeholder groups in British Columbia, I'm sure we'll be able to identify more.
While we don't yet know the shape that the negotiations will take, B.C. is looking forward to being a full and active participant in the negotiations. We have greatly appreciated the federal approach to the CETA, the Canada–European negotiations, where the provinces were in the room during negotiations, and we'd like to see this sort of a model continue.
I'd like to thank you very much for this opportunity. I would be happy to answer, or try to answer, any questions that you might have.