International Trade Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2017

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

We have time for a few short questions, from Madame Lapointe and Mr. Van Kesteren.

Go ahead, Madame Lapointe.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ambassador, for being here today. I also want to thank all the members of your team.

I have a question for you.

You know that Canada signed a progressive agreement with the European Union. Is that something you will look at?

You said earlier that you accepted the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a package. Would you be interested in an agreement that more closely resembles CETA?

[H.E. Kenjiro Monji]

I thank you very much for the question, because I forgot to mention that Japan and the EU have been negotiating an economic partnership agreement, and it is moving forward. We made big progress last year and we hope to conclude as soon as possible.

I mentioned the Japan-China-South Korea free trade agreement, but a Japan-EU economic partnership agreement is another very important element of Japan's trade policy.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Okay.

However, could Canada and Japan have a free trade agreement that is similar to the agreement between Canada and the European Union?

[H.E. Kenjiro Monji]

Well, we have been negotiating the bilateral economic partnership agreement. Sorry, I am not quite aware in detail of the CETA, but what we have been talking about is promoting trade and investment bilaterally. I think that can certainly be the model, or the coverage will be similar.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Thank you, Madame Lapointe.

Mr. Van Kesteren, you have the floor, sir.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you, Your Excellency, for an excellent recap of what's taken place. I think you've answered most of our questions.

I want to shift a little bit to something which I think is on the minds of a lot of Canadians, and that is Fukushima. Could you give us an update on that?

At the time that the disaster happened, Japan had indicated that they wanted to transfer much of their power to natural gas. Where are you getting your LNG at this point? Is there movement to have that outsourced from the west coast?

[H.E. Kenjiro Monji]

Well, a year and a half ago maybe, we issued a future energy outlook for 2030. According to that, the biggest share is liquefied natural gas at 27%. The second is coal at 26%. We depend on nuclear power 21% to 22%, maybe, and on new and renewable energy 20% to 23%.

At this stage, seeing as only four nuclear reactors have restarted, we still depend on liquefied natural gas. At this moment we import liquefied natural gas from Qatar, where I had been an ambassador, from Australia, Malaysia, and other countries.

The important thing is that Japan is now developing liquefied natural gas in five countries other than Canada, that is, the United States, Russia, Australia, Malaysia, and Mozambique. The import from the United States will start this year through the Panama Canal.

I had a chance to send a public comment concerning the Japanese, Chinese, and Malaysian liquefied natural gas projects. The timing is crucial in the liquefied natural gas project because it involved a huge amount of investment. That means since many companies prefer a long-term contract, we are really trying to find a stable supply of energy. Once those demands are filled by long-term contracts, the next vacancy may not arrive quite easily. In that sense, timing is crucial, as I mentioned on other occasions.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Very quickly, what is the situation at Fukushima at this time?

[H.E. Kenjiro Monji]

We have reconstruction, and it is moving forward, but because of radiation, I believe there are still some areas closed. Quite a number of people still have to live in temporary housing. But even though it's slow, there has been progress toward the reconstruction there. Also, we have started the procedure to dismantle the nuclear reactors at Fukushima.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you, sir.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Thank you, and that answers the questioning.

There were very good questions from the MPs, a very good dialogue, and a great presentation, sir, from your country. We're hoping to welcome you back to our committee again. Thanks for this update, and may we continue with the great friendship we have between our countries. Trade makes peace, and that's something we need more of.

Thank you, again.

We will suspend for five minutes and then we'll come back in camera.

[Proceedings continue in camera]