Very good.
If you can, make it really quick.
Evidence of meeting #7 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 europe.
Evidence of meeting #7 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 europe.
Conservative
Director, Atlantic Director, Grain Growers of Canada, Atlantic Grains Council
Basically, the resource industry is a seasonal economy. I guess the people who live and work here have a choice. They can use social net programs, or the alternative is to seek employment elsewhere and be ready hopefully to come back and work during the next season.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
That takes us to the end of the first round.
I just want to use the chair's prerogative to ask one more question to Mr. Ross, because I was a little confused in your testimony.
You said that one of the biggest problems you had in your industries were the buy American clauses, which hurt your industry.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Then you went on to indicate to me that you wanted a buy Canadian clause. We fight the Americans on shutting down buy American because we agree with you that's a dead-end street and hard on our industry, but then to bring it into an only buy Canadian clause, that's difficult to square.
General Manager, Cherubini Group of Companies
For us, I don't think it is. It's a circle....
Conservative
General Manager, Cherubini Group of Companies
On bridges and infrastructure, we are prohibited from selling our goods and services with the buy American clause—
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Right, but with the Edmonton bridge you would have said the same thing.
General Manager, Cherubini Group of Companies
The Edmonton bridge was.... We do not have a buy Canadian clause—
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
That takes me to the other question.
Do you realize that in this trade agreement there is a $2.7 trillion steel opportunity in Europe? Are you capitalizing on that?
General Manager, Cherubini Group of Companies
We'll be looking at that, but in our world here in Nova Scotia, we are limited in our size and there's a lot of.... If we're competing against Spain, for example, where labour costs are a lot cheaper, we're going to have difficulty.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Okay, fair enough. I just wanted to make those points.
Let's move on to Mr. Morin.
NDP
Marc-André Morin NDP Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Delaney, it seems that one of the remaining issues to be solved in the agreement is the tracing of GMO in grain shipments. Could you tell me if you foresee a solution in that matter in the near future?
Director, Atlantic Director, Grain Growers of Canada, Atlantic Grains Council
Thank you for your question.
My answer would be that as I understand it, the CETA sets a framework for further dialogue. With GMO, genetically modified organisms, there's a science-based approach to deal with that. Canada and the EU, as I understand it, will enter into side agreements before the agreement is finalized, and the provinces and the Government of Canada will be consulted to address cultural, social, and technical issues with relation to GMO.
The hope is that through dialogue and trying to get to know the customer, we can do a better job in market access on GMO through a science-based approach.
Marc-André Morin NDP Laurentides—Labelle, QC
As I was listening to you in your statement, I think you were looking forward to massive grain exports to Halifax. To sustain the infrastructure, don't you think that some of the grain will have to come from central Canada, from other provinces, or do you have enough volume?
Director, Atlantic Director, Grain Growers of Canada, Atlantic Grains Council
I'll let my colleague respond to that. Suffice it to say, the argument could be made that we're indirectly connected to them now, because we're topping off vessels with product from the rest of the country now.
Representative, General Manager, Prince Edward Island Grain Elevators Corporation, Atlantic Grains Council
Yes, I think we do need more volume through the elevators here in Halifax. Maybe stuff from western Canada will come this way. They seem to be having some rail issues shipping to the west, and maybe this will provide an opportunity to make people come this way and increase the throughput to this elevator.
NDP
Marc-André Morin NDP Laurentides—Labelle, QC
At the moment, the train would have to ride on Lac-Mégantic's main street to come here. That was tried, but it didn't work out very well.
Don't you think we need massive investment in our railway system in order to get benefits for the gateway, as the other witnesses were telling us? If you want to make it sustainable in the long run, it has to be used by Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba. Anything east of Winnepeg could come here.
Representative, General Manager, Prince Edward Island Grain Elevators Corporation, Atlantic Grains Council
Oh, yes, for sure. If this trade agreement creates those opportunities, certainly Quebec and Ontario are not that far to rail down here, and yes, infrastructure is key. We need more rail cars, better lines, better service. The more throughput through that plant....
I mean, if you just go back to the Crow rate days, there was an awful lot of product from western Canada going off the east coast to Europe.
NDP
Marc-André Morin NDP Laurentides—Labelle, QC
From a historical point of view, Halifax and Montreal, which were the economic powerhouses of Canada at the time, drained their savings to finance the construction of a trans-Canadian railway, but it's the same railway. Are we going to catch up somehow?
Director, Atlantic Director, Grain Growers of Canada, Atlantic Grains Council
Sir, Prince Edward Island has had to deal with the loss of the railway since 1989. We've had to evolve a transportation system of moving products from a net export province without the railway and without the benefit of harbours.
We also know, through the Grain Growers of Canada and other national organizations, that there are a number of reviews going on nationally, transportation reviews and so on, to try to improve the overall system.
To that extent, if it helps our sister provinces assemble product for export out of Halifax, I'm sure our organizations would be supportive.
