Evidence of meeting #54 for International Trade in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was welding.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Randy Hoback
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It's great to be here this Wednesday. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) we are studying small and medium-sized enterprises.
We have witnesses from Analytica Advisors Inc., Cravo Equipment Ltd., Ingenia Consulting, and 123 Certification is joining us by video conference.
We're going to start the meeting with the video conference.
Mr. Claude Choquet, president and chief executive officer, you have the floor for eight minutes.
Claude Choquet President and Chief Executive Officer, 123 Certification
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, members of the House of Commons.
My name is Claude Choquet and I represent 123 Certification Inc.
I am the president and founder, welding engineer, and inventor of the welding simulator called ARC+, which is used to train welders.
My company, 123 Certification, is a leader in virtual reality and simulation. We offer virtual platforms for training, coaching, and assessing the manual dexterity of welders. This platform unites ecology and manual dexterity because due to the cost of training, it makes it possible to improve the recognition of employment skills in a field where certification of expertise is mandatory.
I will continue my presentation in French.
I myself invented the manual dexterity training and certification platform for welding, the ARC+ simulator. As the Canadian delegate to International Institute of Welding's Commission XIV for the education and training of welders, I keep abreast of global solutions designed to solve a problem affecting certification in the trade.
This original solution has led to over 25 years of expertise in the field to solve a serious shortage problem that has an impact on the current economic recovery around the world. This one-of-a-kind innovation is a platform for manual dexterity and muscle memory training, with its primary application in the welding trade.
Welding is no longer a commodity, it is a competitive edge. I am handling now a tool common for welding. It's an electrode holder. This is a tool that welders use to write figures or to use handwriting each day on metal parts. For image purposes, individuals who handle this tool are paid to create weld symbols with very precise handling as if you were writing a letter on paper, using differing font sizes.
The mission of 123 Certification is to simplify the training and certification process for welding against a background in which it is difficult to find a good welder on the market, even though the price for the trade is right. Companies and training schools are interested in this new interactive 3D solution that has real-time exercises for training today's apprentices with tomorrow's tools.
123 Certification is a leader in virtual reality and simulation. We are the worldwide originators of a unique way to train, assess and even certify manual dexterity for employment in a number of trades that use welding.
To better illustrate how a welding simulator is used, here is an example where individuals, such as aeronautic technicians, have to perform maintenance operations with manual or semi-automatic welding. They will be able to practise their tasks before performing them on aircraft components.
Why a simulator? Just like training for airline pilots, it is now possible to use virtual reality to learn basic welding movements. A welding simulator captures a welder's movements, processes them in real time and recreates the manual dexterity exercise in the 3D glasses.
Our value proposition is to reduce the time and cost of training a welder, in a formula well adapted to today's reality, all while using a green approach and increasing the quality of training as the trainee progresses through the program.
Is the approach realistic? Since just 2009, we have sold close to 700 units, including six in Canada, in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario, and in the four corners of the world, in the United States, Australia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, India, Mongolia and China.
With the support of the international community and with several Canadian innovations from our company, we have designed, developed and delivered a unique solution for the welding trade.
I will now talk about the issues in our country.
During its most recent investigation into recruiting and training in the metal transformation industry, the provincial sectorial committee highlighted the lack of welders in Quebec. Almost 60% of companies in the metal transformation industry employ welders or welder-assemblers. At the time of the investigation, the 935 companies surveyed anticipated hiring 1,400 welders or welder-assemblers, which represents close to 3,000 hires planned for all of Quebec, if we extrapolate these intentions to the entire industry.
At the same time, we are seeing fewer graduates in the past 10 years. As a result, the 885 graduates will not be enough to meet the demand of Quebec metal manufacturing companies.
In Canada in 2010, the average revenue generated by a production employee in metal manufacturing was $236,000 a year. We have a shortage of about 2,100 welders, which is 3,000 minus 885. This means that the industry would leave nearly half a billion dollars in revenue on the table every year, in the province of Quebec alone, because of a lack of welders.
Our goal is to increase the supply of welders and optimize the use of existing resources in companies. We are proposing training for entrepreneurs and their welding supervisors, coupled with activities to raise awareness about the welding trade, which will boost the value of on-site employees and potential welders.
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the House of Commons who surely know these same challenges in your own geographical regions in Canada, may I have a few minutes of your time so that I can listen to the issues you have identified regarding the school drop-out rates among young people during your recent interactions with various stakeholders?
We are taking part in a welding championship in 35 cities in France that has been held for seven years. We will also be taking part in another championship in May, to be held in 15 cities in northern Italy. We are seeking funds to establish a championship across Quebec next fall. It will be supported jointly by the Quebec manufacturing community and its network. This same championship could very well be held across Canada if we manage to get the funding.
We are going to call this activity: “Welding for the non-welder,” and it will be a “Do I have the knack?” or “Do I have what it takes?” kind of championship. It will be a knowledge and skills transfer activity that would be used to update the expertise of those responsible for welding in the companies. The “best welder” competition would be for welders by trade and aspiring welders who are not registered in welding training. The championship is therefore designed to highlight the welding trade and attract new vocations.
This competition would therefore complement the Quebec “Olympiad” or “trade skills” competition of trades and technologies that is reserved for students enrolled full time in a program approved by the Quebec ministry of education. This fun competition is a fantastic opportunity to provide information about the welding trade and make companies aware of new technologies. In fact, the tests will take place on a simulator, a real virtual welding platform. It is a true challenge for our welders, and it is also a good way to spot potential candidates.
We are hoping for the following results: to improve the working conditions and expertise of company welders; to increase the quality and the productivity of company welders; to increase registrations for welding training; to reverse the downward trend in technical graduations in welding and the negative spiral of the image of welding as a trade by showing that the trade, often perceived as low-tech, is becoming high-tech.
If you would like more information about what we do, please do not hesitate to visit our website.
Thank you for your attention. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Randy Hoback
Perfect timing. You did it right in eight minutes.
We'll move on to our next witness, Analytical Advisors, Céline Bak.
The floor is yours for eight minutes.
Céline Bak Chief Executive Officer, Analytica Advisors Inc.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be with you today.
Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee.
I would like to suggest that we imagine when we were children of having a tug-of-war and how we strategized to win the tug-of-war. We all had a place on the rope and we were all thinking about who should be first, second, and third, and we all had a common goal. I'd like us to have this image in mind as we think about the opportunity to create a $50 billion industry for the Canadian clean technology industry.
The context for this opportunity is, as you all know, the important challenge we face in regard to exports. With consumer debt being high, with governments struggling to balance the books, and with industry sitting on cash, exports, including both merchandise and natural resources, are a core part of the Canadian economic story. As we all know, there is a geopolitical risk associated with oil and gas exports, as they currently sit at 25% of total exports. We have a graph here to familiarize you with the current mix of exports, now half natural resources and half merchandise, and the current account of Canada that continues to struggle to regain balance.
We'd like to make a modest proposal for clean technology, and that would be a diplomatic commerce strategy based on four principles: engagement, development, procurement, and capital markets.
We can all benefit from SMEs' clean technology exports if we pull together—meaning all of DFATD, Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and Finance Canada—all of the Canadian capacity that is relevant for clean technology and SMEs.
I'd like to begin by giving you an indication of five things you should know about the industry.
It's made up of hard-working exporters. More than half of revenues are currently from exports, and 40% of those exports are from non-U.S. markets, indicating a highly globalized industry. It's also one of the fastest growing industries in Canada, with revenues growing by 9% to $11.3 billion in 2012.
It's near to us all, with no single company too big to fail and over 800 companies across the country.
In addition to the jobs and the exports that these companies produce, they also produce fuels that keep people working in Canadian forests, chemicals that keep cancer causing chemicals far from our families, electricity grids that keep hospitals up and running no matter what, energy so that the buildings we work in can produce rather than consume energy, water where we need it without wasting money, and transportation that costs less than what we pay for today; that and much more.
These companies are driving great jobs, including high-paying full-time jobs in astounding numbers, which grew by 6% to 41,000 people directly employed in over 800 companies. These firms are mostly SMEs and they are deeply innovative. In fact, 75% of the R and D investment in the industry, for a total of $3.5 billion over the last five years, was made by SMEs. That investment is second only to the aerospace industry in Canada in terms of R and D intensity.
I'll quickly compare and contrast with some industries that we may be more familiar with, including the Canadian aerospace industry, with 73,000 people working in it within 700 firms, with $1.3 billion in R and D, and 80% of revenues from exports. The automotive industry has 117,000 people working within 450 firms and 75% of revenues from exports.
Our vision for the Canadian clean technology industry by 2022 is an industry made up of a 100,000 direct jobs within the firms, 700 or so in total, with $50 billion in revenue, $2.2 billion in R and D, and 80% of revenues from exports. We think that there are some very interesting parallels between these industries.
What does a diplomatic commerce strategy mean? It means engagement, development, procurement, and capital markets. We need to work together across all departments and all letters of DFATD.
The first is an engagement strategy, because clean technology is a strategic conversation when we talk about trade. When we engage in bilateral discussions with China, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and with all of our strategic partners, is it Canada's turn to be engaged with the commerce that might occur in clean technologies? One vehicle for that discussion is regulation.
In Canada, we have one of the broadest and deepest arrays of regulatory frameworks in the world, and many emerging markets are building regulations. Can we help them with that as a first step to commerce?
Second, we need a strategy for international development and climate change, which has to be both multilateral and bilateral. International development and climate finance have been the foundations for important industries, both in the G-8 and in the G-20. Multilateral finance must deliver climate mitigation. We absolutely must ensure that, but it has also served to build industrial capacity, and this will continue in the future. For years we've been invited to second technical experts to the World Bank. Will we ever accept these invitations?
In regard to procurement, I would like to refer to four examples: pull credit facilities within EDC, industrial regional benefits within our aerospace contractors in Canada, SME procurement within the federal supplier system in the U.S., and SME procurement via the social economy within the European Union. It is important to note that early deployments in innovation-based industries are the springboard for exports for all innovation-based firms. How are the U.S. and the EU building SME content into infrastructure investments? How should we consider that? How is EDC structuring its approach to engage its pull credit facility clients to pull-through opportunities for SME exporters in clean technology? How are our military contractors in Canada addressing their IRB obligations in regard to an industry such as this one?
The last element of the strategy is for capital markets. Clean technology demands capital for turnkey assets. Can we make SME exports the equivalent of housing starts in this country? Should we deliver regular reporting on exports by size of firm? What are the best practices? Should we be doing quarterly reporting on exports by size of firm? Today, exports by size of firm are invisible to economists, and the same is true for environmental goods, which is another, entirely different opportunity in terms of clean technology and exports.
Let's keep in mind that it is the signals from economists within banks and pension funds that activate new capital markets. With that, we have the opportunity to build jobs, exports, and a stronger economy within a very healthy environment, building on a very capable industry that we have in place today.
I look forward to answering any of your questions.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Randy Hoback
Again, that's perfect timing, with 15 seconds left. So good job.
We are moving on to Cravo Equipment Ltd. and Anne Jackowetz.
Anne Jackowetz Vice President, Finance, Cravo Equipment Ltd.
Mr. Chair and members, it wasn't until I started to piece together Cravo's exporting history that I understood all of the players who were part of the success with our expansion endeavour. It's a good story and I'm very pleased to have the opportunity today to share it with you.
So how does a small Canadian company go from exporting 2% outside of the U.S. in 2008 to 62% six years later?
First, I will give you some background. Cravo is a family-owned business that was started over 30 years ago. We engineer, manufacture, and sell retractable roof structures from our facility located in Brantford, Ontario. We have patents on processes and products and ship our structures in pieces that get assembled and installed on site. Our retractable roofs help growers to optimize growing conditions while protecting crops in minutes from extreme heat, cold, wind, hail, snow, and insects.
Initially our structures were used primarily in the horticultural market of ornamental plants and shrubs and the focus was the U.S. market. During those years we gathered research from our experiences with various crop responses to our houses as well as the return on investments.
Let me take you back to 2008. Cravo was working on getting a foothold in the U.S. amusement market and landed a $7 million water park project in Kansas City. We had worked with this customer before on projects in Texas but not one of this magnitude. The rug was pulled from under us as the financing for the project dried up due to the financial crisis in the U.S. at the time. Fortunately, we had EDC's single buyer insurance coverage and with EDC's assistance we were able to collect from the customer the amount owing to that point in the project. EDC also provides our currency exchange trader with a foreign exchange guarantee on our behalf, eliminating the need to margin.
The year 2009 proved to be pivotal for Cravo. Up until that point we were so highly dependent on the U.S. that 92% of our sales were derived from that marketplace. The 2008 financial crisis was a double whammy because not only did housing starts in the U.S. plummet, but the amusement market sector also came to a grinding halt. It became clear that we needed to diversity geographically and market sector-wise.
We had been researching and collecting data on growing food under our retractable roof. We had built a demonstration greenhouse in Mexico showing great results in trials of peppers and tomatoes, and attracting attention from local growers, but at that point no one was willing to take the risk of trying a different type of growing system.
However, we had a breakthrough in 2010. A large commercial grower purchased a 108-acre project financed by Northstar and backed by EDC over tomatoes in Mexico. Finally we had the break we were waiting for. It was clear now that our market expansion strategy would be to take Cravo retractable roof structures to warm and hot climates where fruits and vegetables were grown.
To reach our target market, we needed to start participating in international fruit and vegetable shows. So in February 2010, with the assistance of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce's export market access program, we attended our first international trade fair for plants in Germany. It proved to be a great source of international qualified leads and an indication of the strong interest from the global marketplace. Due to the change in market focus, projects we were now quoting changed from areas under greenhouses to fields. We needed to add capacity to our fabrication department and ensure unified quality when we were shipping products thousands of miles.
Therefore we took advantage of the FedDev SMART program grant and upgraded our drilling capacities for our steel, and in 2011 we went back to Germany to participate in two international trade fairs. Once again, export market access helped to defray 50% of the cost for these two events, including the translation of marketing material into other languages. We definitely were building awareness and sales from the contacts made at these shows. By the end of 2011 we had shipped projects into Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Turkey.
During our information-gathering from the new contacts that we were connecting with, we learned that there was a demand for a variation of our existing structure product offering. The demand was for a structure that could be built over varying terrain and protect against rain, but still be cost effective. Using scientific research and experimental development—SR and ED—funds, we designed a product we call the X Frame and added it to our product offering.
Robin MacNab of the trade commissioner's office met with us to hear our story. At that time, he suggested a strategy for our efforts in the Middle East. He provided us with trade commissioner contacts in those markets where we were trying to gain a foothold.
We also met with a business advisory member from the Ontario government. He reinforced the importance of keeping in touch with potential customers via a newsletter, so in September of 2012 we launched our monthly newsletter, with subsequent Turkish and Spanish versions. Today we have a total of over 4,000 subscribers to the three versions.
In 2012 we continued our investment in production efficiency. Working with BDC, we obtained a flexible equipment loan to purchase equipment for our sewing and fabrication departments.
Our first large-scale X Frame project was sold into Mexico late in 2012 for growing tomatoes. If this trial project continues to produce the way it has, this customer is planning to replace their existing conventional greenhouses with Cravo structures.
It was quite an honour to be recognized by our peers for our exporting efforts when we received a gold Ontario business achievement award for market expansion from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in October 2012.
When the SMART program resurfaced in 2013, we applied for and received financial support toward the purchase of a new custom sewing system to improve and maintain consistent quality of our roof coverings. Again BDC was there for us to provide the remaining financing.
At the end of 2014, we had five projects shipped to South Africa, eight to Australia, and seven into the Mexican market. In addition, over the past five years we have shipped projects to Nigeria, the U.K., Chile, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Brazil. Cravo's president was asked to speak about our production system at the global forum for innovations in agriculture in Abu Dhabi.
Given the market acceptance of both Cravo and our retractable roofs, the changing weather patterns, and the increased need for food in the world, we foresee very positive growth for our products in the future.
Thank you.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Randy Hoback
Thank you very much.
We'll move on to our final witness, Ramona Materi, from Ingenia Consulting.
You have the floor for eight minutes, please.
Ramona Materi Principal, Ingenia Consulting
Thank you very much.
I'd like to thank the committee for inviting me, and the chair as well. It's a very great honour. I'd also like to thank the clerk and her team for all their assistance in enabling me to come.
As the chair mentioned, my name is Ramona Materi. I am the president of Ingenia Consulting.
What I want to do in the eight minutes available to me is cover three points. First of all I'll talk a little bit about our firm and the experience we've had in accessing international markets. Second, I will take a little bit of time to look at some of the programs. I did provide some notes for the presentation; I'm just going to touch on a couple of them. Finally, probably in the last minute or so, I just happen to have been at two very interesting presentations this past week where policy issues came up related to international trade, and I'd just like to share a couple of the points from some of these well-known presenters.
On my first point with regard to Ingenia, we're based in Vancouver, B.C. We're a small services firm. We have six professionals and a support person. The area we work in is fairly esoteric in the sense that it's labour market information, it's workforce development. You wonder where people sell those types of services. For the past four years we've done the vast majority of our work in the north of British Columbia, and those members from British Columbia will know that there are enormous multi-billion dollar investments being made in the north of British Columbia.
I'm currently writing a book to be called “British Columbia's New North: How to Build Your Business, Respect Communities—and Prosper”. An advantage of doing that is that I've learned a lot about what local governments are doing to try to support their businesses to take advantage of those opportunities. I think some of the initiatives they have could potentially be turned into a Canadian endeavour looking to support SMEs that are trying to export.
In terms of our company experience in international trade, I read the testimony from previous witnesses who've made points that sometimes people go into markets and then they pull out because they realize they don't have the capacity. I think we are an example of that.
Since 1998 I've participated in trade missions to Malaysia and Singapore; made three visits to the Asian Development Bank in Manila, twice on behalf of my company and another time on behalf of an environmental services company; I did a two-week mission in Vietnam with the British Columbia Institute of Technology; I did a trade mission to Germany and another trade mission to the U.S. Out of all of that, over the period of 16 years or so, we actually had one small contract in Vietnam where we did work.
I don't regard those missions as a failure in any way. I think they were very helpful for us to go to see, in terms of accessing, what the market could be and if those services would be available. I urge your continued support for these types of missions for companies.
In terms of just moving to my second point with regard to what some governments are doing in the north of B.C., again, I read through the previous testimony. I didn't read anyone talking about one of the programs they have where they are preparing businesses, because to build those projects you're going to have large, multinational construction firms. The Northern Development Initiative Trust, as an example, provides 50% of the cost of consulting for the companies to get ready. It's not to get ready to export, because I know there are programs that will let companies do market research and so forth, but it's actually to prepare them to be competitive. I haven't seen examples of that: where perhaps Canadian-exporting SMEs could be better prepared, get the ISO qualifications or other things they need to do before they even consider moving into an international market. That was the program there.
As you saw in the presentations I made, I think one of the things the committee could do is to consider the services. Services are a small but growing part of our exports and are very high-end jobs. I met with the trade commissioner in Vancouver. They're saying that we have architects coming in. They can sell abroad—the clean tech sector—but also the environmental services sector, not only the technologies. I think that's an important growth industry that we would want to consider.
You'll see that some of my comments are about reaching out to SMEs that don't export.
You've been hearing from a lot of experienced exporters telling you how programs have helped. If you're going to reach your goal of doubling the 10,000 number of exporters, to me you have to spend time thinking about what kinds of policies, or even funding at least, will go to outreach, and beyond preaching to the choir. That's in some of the suggestions or recommendations I made: thinking how you do that sort of outreach to qualified firms in the export sector. I've already talked about the services.
And then, as I say, in my final point on the benchmarking, are we as a country looking at our competitor countries in key markets and asking what they're doing to support their exporters? Can we learn anything from them? Are we Canadians on the ground getting outgunned by them because of what the Aussies are doing in Vietnam or China or other things? That was a another point.
To wrap up, my third point I thought was quite interesting. I attended a presentation on Monday by David Dodge, who was formerly with the Bank of Canada. He was very strongly supportive of the notion of these international trade agreements that we're signing, in the sense that he believes it increases the competitiveness of the Canadian economy in general. You've heard from previous witnesses who say that the good exporters are the companies that innovate, the companies that do new things. If they're innovative here, they're probably innovative globally. Any sort of support for that innovation I think will really help us, as does support for trade agreements.
The other presentation—and I'll close with that—was given by McKinsey & Company. It focused very much on British Columbia, but again, some of the points that were made I think could apply to the Canadian context. Basically, in a 15- to 20-year timeframe, they see the rise of some five trends: the rise of emerging markets, the power of disruptive technologies, the aging of the global population, the changing nature of capitalism, and the return of geopolitics, which I think people are well aware of.
You have your own forecasters and I appreciate that, but one of the points I thought was quite interesting—and he repeated it several times, and I think it would be helpful at the SME level—was that rather than target a country, target cities in some of these very large countries. Perhaps in China and India they might be second-tier cities. Look at them in terms of policies because some of these second-tier cities may have 20 million people and could be very attractive markets.
The other point that could help was for political leaders to work with business leaders to expand these markets.
Thank you very much.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Randy Hoback
Great. Thank you very much.
We'll move on to Ms. Liu.
You have the floor for seven minutes.
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As a member of Parliament, I feel really privileged to be able to hear these success stories.
Conservative
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you for that presentation, Ms. Jackowetz.
I'll give you a bit time to put on your translation device.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Randy Hoback
You have the ability to change it to English or French on the display.
Channel one would be English.
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
As I mentioned, I feel really privileged to hear of these successes, particularly those of Ms. Jackowetz and Mr. Choquet, from Montreal. Thank you for telling us about these personal experiences. Having said that, I would like to start with Ms. Bak.
In connection with a wider debate at this committee, we have frequently heard that Canada is really not a player in Asian markets. So more has to be done in Asia, especially in China. You mentioned China, India and other countries.
Do you feel that Canada should develop an export strategy for Asia? What would it look like?
Chief Executive Officer, Analytica Advisors Inc.
Canada actually has a strategy for Asia in the area of clean technology; it is done through the trade commissioner service. For one of the letters of DFATD, we have a strategy for China and we have commissioners around the world. In every region of China, our consular offices are working to find business opportunities for companies in the clean technology sector.
But I would say that we do not have a diplomatic strategy for the sector. There the other letters of DFATD come into play. The other partners are also missing from the table. We could mention Environment Canada, which works bilaterally with its counterparts in China in settling regulatory matters, for example.
The establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank also provides us with the opportunity to meet that challenge and develop a strategy for the region.
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you.
You also mentioned the need to adopt a strategy for international development and climate change.
If the federal government were to implement regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gases, would it be of use to your sector?
Chief Executive Officer, Analytica Advisors Inc.
Strategies to reduce greenhouse gases can have a very positive impact on the sector. Cap and trade systems allow clean technology companies to decrease greenhouse gases and, by doing so, to sell credits on the market. They clearly work very well. The one in the European Union does not.
We have the opportunity to use those systems for the benefit of our sector. But it must be pointed out that China has used all the funding for climate change in order to put its solar panel system into place. You are probably well aware of those issues.
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Last week, there was a lot of talk on the news about the fact that Ontario has taken steps to join a greenhouse gas emissions trading market.
In your view, is it important for the federal government to implement measures along those lines, even though the provinces are already doing so, in order to reduce greenhouse gases? Do you feel it is important for Ottawa to have a framework, a strategy, along those lines?
Chief Executive Officer, Analytica Advisors Inc.
Perhaps you are aware of the recommendations of Canada's EcoFiscal Commission. A few weeks ago, it issued a report that analyzed the impact of provincial programs in the context of a strategic federal framework.
Most of the advantages and the progress would be at provincial level. There could certainly be a coordination role at federal level, but my view is that we also need a diplomatic approach. A number of discussions are going on in the United States, for example, and we are not part of them because we have no federal strategy. The United States recently announced a new climate change partnership with Mexico. Canada was not at that table, which, in my view, was a serious failure.
Whether it is with the United States or with other major international trading partners, I believe that we should have a strategy, not only for international trade but also for our international relations.
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you very much.
Basically, you said that we should start quantifying exports and gathering data about the size of the companies. Is that a recommendation from you to the committee?
Chief Executive Officer, Analytica Advisors Inc.
Yes, and I know that it is not at all easy to do.
To publish exports by size of firm, not on a survey basis but on a quarterly basis, is a big deal. Frankly we count housing starts as though they are a huge deal and they're a key indicator of the consumer market. If we think exports are such a big deal and SME exports are 55% or 60% of exports, why wouldn't we have the same granularity and the same periodicity for the information that makes markets? Housing starts make markets. They change. Trades occur in public companies because of that information. Economists follow that information very closely. We need to think of similar types of market-making information for exports by size of firm.
NDP
Laurin Liu NDP Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I would like to ask one last question.
I have a lot of questions for Ms. Materi.
You also spoke about the need to export services and a strategy toward exporting those to Asia, not only natural resources. What would be your recommendations to committee from that aspect?
Principal, Ingenia Consulting
In services, look at the IFIs, international finance, the Asian Development Bank, and see what they are doing. They buy a lot of services and we're very competitive there.