International Trade Committee on Oct. 23rd, 2017

[Mathew Wilson]

I would say exactly what Victoria is saying, but maybe a little bit more.

A couple of years ago, we actually started an online platform of B2B matchmaking in advance of the CETA agreement coming in, and it tapped into a European connection. There's a European network called the Enterprise Europe Network that's paid for and funded by the European Commission. It's there to do B2B matchmaking for companies around the world in all sectors: manufacturing, food, technology start-ups—it doesn't matter what it is.

CME became the Canadian arm of that, and we were looking for some government money to allow us to get Canadian companies access into this market where there are 50,000 B2B matchmaking opportunities. We couldn't get a cent out of the Canadian government. EDC did support us for a little while on it, but as you can imagine, running a B2B portal isn't exactly cheap. We're a non-profit, and we couldn't afford to do it on our own. We actually did have the framework in place, and we're in the process, basically, of pulling out of it because we can't afford to run it on our own without government support.

We actually thought it would have made sense for the trade commissioner service to do it, to run it out of there, as a B2B online tool, but it didn't want to do it for whatever reason.

[Kyle Peterson, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

This can be open to anyone. Whether it's through the trade commissioner service or EDC, what suite of services do you think the government should provide or ought to provide that it isn't now? If there are gaps there, we probably would like to hear about them.

[Mathew Wilson]

I think the biggest problem we have—and Victoria mentioned this in her last comments—is getting companies to be aware of markets outside of Canada, so it's anything that can be done to educate companies. Overwhelmingly—and Michael can talk about the size of the companies—you're looking at very small companies, generally, in Canada, even in manufacturing. There are 90,000 manufacturers; 89,500 of them are tiny companies. They don't have internal expertise and resources to even understand what the markets are, let alone to actually take advantage of them. If we're going to start somewhere, it's with the education and resourcing of those companies.

One of the things we put, for example, in our pre-budget submissions in the past was to fund shared positions through organizations like CME, chambers of commerce, Startup Canada, and others. We could have trade experts inside our organization who could be lent out for a day a week to companies. These experts would specialize in an area or different areas that could help companies develop these global strategies, including e-commerce strategies. There's some funding at some provincial level for that type of thing. However, that type of an expansion—where it's not going directly to the government, but through an association that typically has better connections with the business community—could go a long way in addition to the increased education.

[Kyle Peterson, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

That pretty well wraps up your time.

We're going to move over to the Conservatives now.

Mr. Allison, you have the floor.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Holden, welcome back. I think the last time you were here, you were on this side of the table.

[Michael Holden, Chief Economist, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters]

I was on that side of the table.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

I'm glad to see you. It's been a few years.

Wasn't it 11 or 12 years—?

[Michael Holden]

It was nine years.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Excellent, that's good.

My question is to you, Ms. Lennox.

We talked about the competitiveness, which I think is the elephant in the room. If we don't have the proper policies in place, regardless of what we do, it's going to make it tough to compete.

My question to you is—and then I'll get the manufacturers to talk about this again—what are some of the policies that we, as governments, have to be mindful of as we compete? We talked about taxation, and sure that's one. We talked about infrastructure. We get that. Give us another suite of things that, as governments, we need to be mindful of to create the proper culture so that we can be an entrepreneurial nation.

[Victoria Lennox]

We all hear about this relentless red tape reduction. It never ends.

With regard to our tax policies, not just looking at less taxes for entrepreneurs but also tax incentives to invest in early-stage companies, there are so many ways that we can leverage the tax system, and best practices globally, where certain interventions with taxation actually lead to more Canadians getting involved in investing in early-stage companies so they're part of this ideas economy in really cool, new, and innovative ways. That also includes crowdfunding and how we look at the regulators, and how we open up crowdfunding and capital for entrepreneurs in Canada. There's all that capital stuff.

There's no more exciting policy tool than procurement, in terms of building entrepreneurs in early-stage companies into global supply chains in large RFPs, and how we innovate within the Government of Canada.

One of the biggest things we need to look at before, or even during.... It all has to happen in tandem. Good luck.

It's really the user interface. Canada has amazing support for entrepreneurs, but we need that one place where every entrepreneur can go. Concierge service tried to do it. The European Union has mandated that all of its member nations have a one-stop resource for small business owners.

Why isn't it that when an entrepreneur registers their company at Corporations Canada, they get an email from the Government of Canada saying thank you so much for starting a company? At that moment, why don't they say, “Thank you so much. You're in for a hell of a ride, but here's all the support of the Government of Canada. Here's all the support of the grassroots start-up community. We've got you. We want you to succeed.” That's part of the culture that we need to create. It isn't just that they register and fall off the face of the planet and one of our organizations picks them up when they're lonely, but that we, as a nation, are rallying around them.

I think it's the user interface, it's the citizen-centric service, and it's how we all come together.

It's very difficult for government. You're so large. When we work with entrepreneurs in the start-up community, perhaps the entrepreneurs can be part of the solution in helping to create that one-stop resource. I think if we get tax right, we get red tape reduction right, we get procurement, we get an incentive infrastructure.... SR and ED is awesome. There are certain things we have in Canada that the world just ogles at, but we're not coming together.

I think that's our opportunity, and if we miss it, it's ours to lose.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Along these same lines, the CME talked about modernization. We agreed that with the two NAFTAs, modernization of e-commerce was one of the things we didn't have.

Give us some thoughts around what you think that chapter would look like or should look like?

[Mathew Wilson]

Specifically in trade agreements, do you mean?

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

As it relates to NAFTA....

[Mathew Wilson]

Our recommendation was to copy over the TPP language, frankly. It's fairly generic, or general terms. It talks about the ability for companies to trade digitally and move goods, and the protections they would get around it. There's not a lot of detail.

Someone else had mentioned OECD studies and reports in this area. I think this is a growing area that needs more work. It's certainly not something we're experts in, by any stretch of the imagination. The brief TPP language that's in there that seems to be going forward under the NAFTA is something we've been supportive of, as a first framework anyway.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

I don't have much time left, so I'll take it on my next round.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Okay. Thank you, sir.

Before I go further, I would like to welcome two visiting MPs to the most exciting and productive committee on the Hill.

We have Mr. Genuis and Ms. Shanahan. Welcome to our committee.

Without further ado, Ms. Shanahan, you have the floor.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Actually, this is a very exciting meeting for me. One is never quite sure what one is going to get when one subs on a committee, but I actually—believe it or not—had been reading something about the blockchain technology. Normally I'm on a need-to-know basis with any kind of innovation, but I find it very exciting that, from what I understand—and I'm looking for your input on this—the blockchain technology will allow very small entrepreneurs to operate in the global marketplace and to ratchet up from there.

I'm not going to say any more, because I'm going to step all over my feet, but perhaps we could start with Mr. Clarke and move along.

[Ethan Clarke]

I wouldn't be able to comment on that. That's technology I am not familiar with.

[Mathew Wilson]

I am in the same boat. I apologize.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Okay.

[Toby Sanger]

I know Don Tapscott and his son have written a book on it, but I haven't read that book. Maybe you have.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

That's the book I've read.

[Toby Sanger]

That's the Canadian expertise on the issue.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

I'm guessing Ms. Lennox can tell us something about it.