Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
It's a pleasure to be here from High Liner Foods, just outside of Lunenburg in Lunenburg County. I appreciate being able to deal with this through this medium.
I have a small presentation on behalf of FCM that I'd like to go through first to bring all of you up to speed on the position that FCM has taken with regard to the negotiations.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, I want to thank you very much for inviting us to speak to you today on this important issue.
We're pleased to be here to present the municipal perspective on this issue. Our president, Councillor Berry Vrbanovic from Kitchener, Ontario, asked me to share his greetings with you. I believe he's on the Hill today lobbying on another issue.
As you know, the FCM has been a national voice of municipal governments since 1901. We represent nearly 2,000 municipal governments, from the largest to the smallest, including over 90% of the Canadian population within our membership. Municipalities will be right in the middle of transforming our economy in the 21st century, building new transit systems, redesigning our water and waste water plants, and retrofitting everything from libraries to hockey arenas and more to be more efficient.
Canadian municipalities procure over $100 billion a year, investing in infrastructure and services that deliver and support our national economy. As Canada negotiates CETA, these investments need to be seen as part of the broader economic strategy within Canada so that we can cultivate and export our expertise, while at the same time protecting the rights of citizens and communities to make decisions based on their own interests. As such, a strong partnership among all levels of government during trade negotiations is required to maximize the benefit of these types of trade agreements, while at the same time minimizing the negative impacts and risks to all of us.
For more than two years, the FCM has had a very strong and clear relationship and position with regard to the new trade agreement that we're talking about. Municipalities support free and fair trade between Canada and the world; however, the Government of Canada must ensure that any new trade agreements reasonably respect and protect municipal autonomy and decision-making. We have established seven principles for fair trade that we have communicated to the federal government to guide their negotiations. Our objective is simple: to protect the municipal right, within reasonable limits, to do their work as the respective councils see fit.
Over the past year, the Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, has joined us by conference call, and in person at our latest meeting in September in Nelson, B.C. The minister's latest correspondence with us, which is available on our website, shows that the Government of Canada understands our position. The minister's letter includes the government's specific responses and commitments to each of the seven principles that we've talked about.
For the benefit of your committee, I will quickly run through the seven principles of FCM's position on international trade.
The first one is reasonable procurement thresholds. Inappropriately low or broad procurement thresholds may force municipalities to tender projects when tendering is neither practical nor financially justified.
The second item is streamlined administration. Ensuring that municipal procurement policies are free-trade compliant will likely create new costs and may require specialized expenditures. The administrative design of these rules must be as streamlined as possible and developed in close cooperation with our municipal procurement practitioners.
The third issue is progressive enforcement. Enforcing provisions of any deal should be progressive and should not penalize inadvertent non-compliance, particularly in cases where municipalities do not have the expertise to appropriately apply the rules--in other words, this means making sure that these will be able to be dealt with and understood throughout the nation, whether you're from Toronto or from Lunenburg itself.
Fourth is Canadian content for strategic industries and sensitive projects. A trade deal must recognize strategic and public interest considerations before barring all preferential treatment based on country of origin. There may be industries of strategic significance to particular regions--such as transit--or projects where consideration of quality, public benefit, environmental protection, or business ethics means that a local government may wish to use criteria beyond the simple cost base of competitive pricing. This should be allowed within reason and that is where the provinces obviously will be playing a big role.
Fifth, a dispute resolution process like the one in NAFTA must ensure that the municipalities can appropriately defend their policies and bylaws as an order of government. Consultation and communication during negotiations are required to ensure any resulting agreement responds to provincial and municipal concerns. We have been working with a group at DFAIT, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, on a regular basis, and they realize that's important to us all.
Sixth is reciprocity. Canada's negotiation position must support reciprocity in Canada and foreign municipal procurement practices. In other words, we must be asking for similar access as that which is being asked of us as Canadians. In particular, the deal's construction-related procurement thresholds seem reasonable; currently, they're at $8.5 million. These are in line with the current World Trade Organization thresholds and are consistent with previous agreements, namely, the Buy American agreement last year.
We understand that the provinces and the territories will be in the lead in negotiating specific exemptions for strategic industries or special projects. It is critical that the interests of all governments work together to craft an agreement that protects the rights of municipalities to build, maintain, and operate the infrastructure that supports Canada's economic competitiveness and quality of life. We should not be put at a competitive disadvantage because of this agreement.
Indeed, the minister has committed to not signing any agreement that is not in the best interests of Canadians. This must include the communities in which they live as well.
There are still unanswered questions regarding the administrative enforcement provisions in dispute resolution processes within CETA. Municipalities will be monitoring the status of the negotiations as they continue to develop. All governments must continue to work together as part of a broad economic strategy, which includes international trade agreements. Developing municipal procurement policies that protect Canadians and our communities will require specialized expertise and must be developed in close cooperation with the municipal procurement practitioners.
I'll open it up now to questions with regard to your committee. I thank you very much for the opportunity to say a few words.