Evidence of meeting #117 for International Trade in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cptpp.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General, Trade Negotiations, and Deputy Chief Negotiator, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I will take the floor on this one.
Do you want me to go act by act, as opposed to giving an overview of all of them?
Liberal
Director General, Trade Negotiations, and Deputy Chief Negotiator, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
How about I give a description of all of the amendments? Then, if there are specific questions, we could go into more detail. In fact, we have experts from some of the departments that are specifically mandated with these particular acts, if you have more detailed questions.
Under the bill there are a number of amendments to Canadian statutes. One is the Export and Import Permits Act, which authorizes the Minister of International Trade Diversification to accept payments and to receive securities as specified by the minister in relation to an allocation method or import allocation.
There are also amendments to the Financial Administration Act, which authorizes the Governor in Council to issue directives to Crown corporations for the purpose of implementing the CPTPP.
There are also amendments to the Trade-marks Act to expand its application to goods that have a mark applied to them that is confusing with a registered trademark.
There are amendments to the Invest in Canada Act to extend Canada's net benefit review threshold of $1.5 billion in enterprise value for non-state-owned enterprise investors to CPTPP parties.
There are amendments to the Customs Act to do three things: to authorize verification of the originating status of goods and withdrawal or denial of preferential tariff treatment; to implement provisions related to advance rulings; and to provide refunds of duties paid on goods from CPTPP parties for which preferential tariff treatment under the CPTPP was not claimed at the time of accounting.
There are amendments to the Commercial Arbitration Act to permit the submission of a claim by an investor of a CPTPP party on its own behalf and on behalf of an enterprise to the tribunal.
There are amendments to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act to empower the tribunal to undertake bilateral safeguard investigations.
Finally, there are amendments to the Customs Tariff to implement preferential tariff treatment for goods from CPTPP parties in domestic law and to implement provisions related to bilateral safeguard measures that may be imposed on goods of another CPTPP party.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
Thank you.
Are there any more comments on clause 14? Shall clause 14 carry?
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
On division
(Clause 14 agreed to on division [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
We can still group them. I don't see them.
What's the first clause you have a question on?
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
The first one is on clause 17. If you want to go through them, when we get to them, I will identify that I have a question.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
(Clause 15 agreed to on division [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Shall clause 16 carry?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
(Clause 16 agreed to on division [See Minutes of Proceedings])
(On clause 17)
Shall clause 17 carry?
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
I have a question regarding the Trade-marks Act.
You have added the line “any trade-mark that is confusing with a registered trademark”. Can you explain why this language is added here? Can you comment on whether you foresee this change will impact how the Trade-marks Act applies to other non-CPTPP countries? Are we broadening the scope of the act in a significant way here?
Andrea Flewelling Senior Policy Advisor, Marketplace Framework Policy Branch, Department of Industry
It seems there are three questions, the first being basically to explain the additional text.
Senior Policy Advisor, Marketplace Framework Policy Branch, Department of Industry
There is a provision in the CPTPP. Article 18.76 relates to special requirements related to border measures. It states:
Each Party shall provide for applications to suspend the release of, or to detain, any suspected counterfeit or confusingly similar trademark or pirated copyright goods that are imported into the territory of the Party.
The amendment was required because the way the text in our Trade-marks Act was currently framed, the border measures, which were implemented through the Combating Counterfeit Products Act back in 2014, related to simply counterfeit goods, which meant goods that were exactly the same or so similar as to not be distinguishable from trademarked goods. This text here requires an expansion to cover confusingly similar trademarks that are not necessarily identical, but are confusingly similar.
The two amendments expand the application of these proceedings for interim custody, so essentially trademark owners can go to court to try to get shipments of goods detained when the goods not only have an inappropriately applied registered trademark but also have a potentially inappropriately applied trademark that is confusingly similar to the registered trademark.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
This change goes beyond the CPTPP. This is really a change that will happen across the board. That's my other question. Does this impact other countries, non-CPTPP countries?
